Crooked G's (16 page)

Thirty minutes later, Shakita was back on the strip and looking for her next trick, and it wasn't long before she found one. A gray Lincoln Town Car pulled up a little way in front of her and she walked up to it.

“You tryna have some fun?” she asked the white man as she leaned in the window.

“How much?” he asked.

“Two hundred for pussy and fifty for head.”

“Two hundred? Ain't that kind of steep for a piece of ass?”

“No, two hundred is cheap for this type of ass, baby. I should be charging you a thousand as good as this pussy is.”

“I don't know, honey. Turn around so I could see that little tight ass of yours.”

Shakita turned around, then lifted up her skirt and put her entire ass in the window, showing him her luscious back side. She then jiggled her ass cheeks in his face, giving the man more of a reason to want her.

“Not bad, sweetheart. Not bad,” he said as she turned back around and lowered her skirt. “So do you want this pussy or not, daddy?”

“Do you do anal?” he asked in a creepy, whispering tone.

White men are such fucking disgusting pigs. They always wanna do some anal shit,
she thought to herself.

“Yeah. But that's another two hundred.”

“All right, get in. You better be worth it.”

“Oh believe me, baby, I am,” she said as she got in the car and shut the door.

“So do you want me to pay you now?”

“You know it. No money, no honey, baby.” Shakita said as she held her hand out for payment.

The man quickly reached in his pocket and placed his badge in her hand.

“You're under arrest,” he said before Shakita even knew what she was holding.

Another unmarked car pulled up beside them with the sirens blaring, backing up their fellow officer in case Shakita decided to run. She couldn't believe what the hell was happening to her and wanted to cry. The undercover officer cuffed her and placed her in the backseat. As the car pulled off, Shakita rode with her head down as the tears began to fall. She was about to go to jail for prostitution and she was scared as hell. She'd never been to jail and so far, this was the worst day of her life. Her mind was in a whirlwind as she headed off to jail.
What the fuck am I going to do now?

As Cotton stood on the other side of the street watching all the action, she couldn't help but to find it amusing at how Shakita had gotten caught up. When the car that was transporting Shakita to jail was finally off the street, the other unmarked car came around to where Cotton was standing and stopped in front of her. She walked over to the car and lowered herself to the officer's window.

“Thanks for the tip, darling,” the officer said to her.

Cotton smiled. “No problem. I owed you a favor, right? Favors are what we do for each other.”

“Now I owe you one,” he said as he waved a handful of money
at her. Cotton grabbed the money and then walked over to the passenger side and got in.

Cotton sat back in the seat as the car began to move. She was off to go show her cop friend a good time and had Shakita to thank for it. The money she received tonight for helping get Shakita busted was more than she would have made in a whole day. Shakita may have had a job at the spa that Cotton always wanted, but out in the streets, Cotton was the queen of the night. She didn't feel sorry for what she'd done to Shakita, and neither did the cops. Besides, it wasn't their fault that Shakita was born “black.”

“Turn to the left.”

Snap!

“Now turn to the right.”

Snap!

Shakita couldn't believe she was getting her mug shot taken and it was the most humiliating thing she'd ever had to do in her life, besides getting strip-searched. During the rest of her intake process, she was allowed to make phone calls before her hearing took place. There was no one she could call who would bail her out without asking why she was there in the first place. She thought about calling Eric, but she didn't want him knowing about her arrest. She still needed to work at the spa and didn't want Eric to lose his trust in her so soon. Since she couldn't call Eric, that meant her only other option was Latrice.

Latrice wouldn't understand why she was in jail either, but if Shakita had to count on someone, it would have to be her. She dialed Latrice's number and hoped she would pick up.

•  •  •

“Who the fuck is callin' me this early?” Latrice wondered. She looked at the clock to see that it was only 8 a.m. She hoped it was a telemarketer so she could cuss their ass out for calling her house so early in the morning.

“Hello,” she answered, sounding halfway sleep.

The way the automated prompter came on, she knew it was a collect call from the D.C. Jail. “I actually talked to his ass yesterday,” Latrice said, waiting to hear Bay's name.

“You have a collect call from…
Shakita Marshall
… Do you accept the charges?”

“What the fuck is she doing in there?” Latrice was so shocked that Shakita was calling her from jail that she almost forgot to accept the charges. She quickly sat up in bed and accepted the call. She couldn't wait to find out what was going on.

“Hello,” Shakita spoke hesitantly.

“Girl! What the hell are you doing in there?”

Shakita didn't want to tell her what was going on yet, but she had to tell her something. “I can't explain everything right now, but I might need you to bail me out.”

Latrice was momentarily speechless as she covered her face not believing what she was hearing. “Kita. I don't even know what to say to you right now.”

Latrice didn't even like bailing Bay out of jail and now her best friend was asking her to do the same for her.

“I know you're mad at me, but I really need your help.”

Latrice remained silent as Shakita continued to plea for her help until she gave in. “Aight. But you better tell me everything.”

“I will. I need you to get me out of here first.”

“When do I need to be down there?”

“My hearing isn't until ten-thirty, so you can come here around twelve.”

“I knew this was going to happen to your ass one day,” Latrice said, letting Shakita know how frustrated she was with her.

Shakita sucked her teeth. “What is that supposed to mean?”

“It means you always doing some grimy-ass shit. I wouldn't be surprised if you told me you were in there for credit card fraud or some shit like that.”

“Could you just come down here, please?” Shakita asked not knowing what else to say to her.

“I'll be there as soon as I can.” Latrice hung up the phone and not giving Shakita a chance to say anything else.

She was fully aware that Latrice was really pissed off with her and had every reason to be. If Latrice was mad about having to go pick Shakita up from jail, she was really going to have a problem when she found out about the money. Shakita hung up the phone and went to sit on a bench along with some other women in the holding cell. Shakita crossed her legs and then rubbed her goose-bump-covered arms, as she attempted to keep herself warm from the cool air that continued to travel through the bars. She looked leery at the other women in the holding cell. They were all in there for various crimes, and it finally resonated that jail was no where she wanted to be. She hoped 10:30 would come quickly.

Shakita was escorted into the courtroom in her jumpsuit while the judge had already been waiting for her. She noticed the judge was a black man and thought he might go easier on her, since she was a “sistah.” Shakita wasn't worried about going to jail anyway. She was a first offender, and heard from other prostitutes that you only get hit with a small bail and a fine. She was expecting to be released by noon and still make it to work on time.

Judge Tomlin was a dark-skinned man with a small afro and wore thin-framed glasses. He had big eyes that immediately demanded your attention. Judge Tomlin had been on the bench for over fifteen years and had seen every type of individual walk through his courtroom. He hated it the most when black women were
coming before him now at the same rate as black men. He didn't understand where so many of them went wrong.

“Miss Marshall. I see here that you have been picked up for soliciting. Is that correct?” Judge Tomlin asked as he looked over her file.

“Yes, Your Honor,” Shakita answered meekly.

“I also see that this is your first offense, but you and I both know that this is the first time you've ever been caught.” Shakita gave the judge a guilty look.

“How long have you been soliciting, Miss Marshall?”

“Only a few times,” she answered, trying to sound believable.

“Only a few times? Is this what you want to be doing for the rest of your life?”

“No, Your Honor. I needed some fast money.”

“I guess receiving a paycheck every two weeks isn't fast enough these days?” Judge Tomlin said sarcastically.

The situation Shakita was in would not allow a regular paycheck to fix her problem. She needed more money than the judge was able to understand.

“So, Miss Marshall, do you currently have a day job?”

“No, Your Honor.”

“Why don't you have a job, Miss Marshall?”

“I've had a hard time trying to find one.”

“That is funny you say that, Miss Marshall. I looked in the
Washington Post
this morning and saw pages and pages of them.” Shakita didn't have anything to say. “You know what I think your problem is, Miss Marshall? You, along with most of young America, want instant gratification. You don't want to work hard for anything and want everything right now. Let me ask you this, Miss Marshall. Were you trying to get money to support a drug habit?”

“No, Your Honor. I don't use drugs.”

“Are you homeless?”

“No, Your Honor. I have somewhere to live.”

“So you are not on drugs, nor are you homeless. Do you like selling your body to men?”

“No, Your Honor.”

“How old are you, Miss Marshall?

“I'm twenty-one, Your Honor.”

“Is your father in your life?”

“No, Your Honor.”

Judge Tomlin removed his glasses and rubbed his brow. He was a father and couldn't picture not being in his children's lives.

“Miss Marshall. I have two daughters that are around your age. One of them attends the University of Pittsburgh for law school and the other is a sophomore at Virginia State University. I understand how hard it is for a young girl to not have her father involved in her upbringing. I certainly didn't have my father in mine. Yet, I didn't use that as an excuse not to be able to succeed in life. Instead I found a few role models to help me get to where I am today. Just like my two girls, I also see promise in you, Miss Marshall.” Shakita didn't ask for the motivational lecture, but she damn sure was listening.

“Now, Miss Marshall, normally what I do for women who come before me with soliciting charges is give them a minimum of thirty days in jail with a maximum of ninety.”

Shakita's whole facial expression changed when the judge talked about how much jail time he could give her. She never thought that she would receive so much time for never being locked up, but she didn't ever think about what would happen if she ever got caught. Shakita was scared as hell.

“But since you are young, Miss Marshall, and still have a long life ahead of you, I'm not going to do that today. I'm going to offer you a chance to turn your life around. Will you accept my offer?”

“Yes, Your Honor.” Shakita quickly nodded her head, willing to accept any form of punishment other than jail.

“What I am going to do for you is have you assigned to a counselor so they can seek job placement for you. You will meet with your counselor today between the hours of three and five p.m. Your counselor will then see to it that you get on the right track. Since you have never had any prior arrests, I am going to let you leave here today on your own recognizance, and conduct a follow-up on you in sixty days to see if you have made any progression. Also, I will be placing you under a strict curfew that will require you to be at your primary address by midnight. Your curfew hours will be set from twelve-oh-one a.m. to six a.m. each night of the week. Does any of what I have said to you sound unfair, Miss Marshall?”

Shakita wanted to tell him that his whole offer was bullshit and that he was severely interfering with her social life. That meant she couldn't work at the spa, she couldn't go to the casino, she couldn't do shit that made her life seem normal. Yet, if she went to jail, her problems would be way worse. She had no choice but to play along if she wanted to get out of there. She shook her head, letting Judge Tomlin know that what he was offering her was fair.

“Okay, Miss Marshall. I want you to know that if you violate your curfew, you will be sent to jail for ninety days. Is that agreed?”

“Yes, Your Honor.”

“Now, if I ever see you in my courtroom again, I promise you I will not be as nice. Do you understand?”

“Yes, Your Honor.”

“All right. Case adjourned,” Judge Tomlin said as he banged his gavel. Shakita was escorted back out the courtroom on her way to getting processed out. Judge Tomlin watched Shakita leave the courtroom and thought heavily on his decision. He hoped he wasn't making a mistake.

S
hakita was processed and given back all her property except for the money she had in her purse. She couldn't get it back since it was considered trick money, so she didn't worry about it and made sure everything else was in her purse. She'd gotten all the information she needed to bring with her when she'd met her counselor and was hoping that Latrice hadn't shown up to come get her yet. It was only 11:15 and she wasn't expecting Latrice to be there for quite some time. Since she was released with no bail, she didn't need Latrice after all. Shakita hoped she could avoid Latrice a little while longer until she thought up another plan.