But after she threw some clothes into a suitcase, and made her way back up front, Boone already was standing outside. And he was already eyeing that crew that seemed to get under his skin.
“I’m back,” Charly said when he didn’t seem to notice that she was standing by his side. He was too busy staring at Porch and his boys. Like most of the people in that complex, they had all come outside too.
Boone finally tore his eyes away from Porch when he heard Charly’s voice. “Ready?” he asked.
“Why are you so interested in them?” Charly asked him. Surely he didn’t think those guys were involved in what happened at her place.
“They’re crooks and cons,” he said to her as he grabbed her suitcase. “I’m always interested in crooks and cons.”
He escorted her to the passenger side of his Ferrari, assisted her as she sat down in the sports car, and then placed her suitcase in his trunk. He got in behind the wheel, thought the better of it, and began getting right back out. “I’ll be back,” he said.
“Boone, don’t confront them this time of morning,” said Charly.
But Boone kept getting out.
“Boone?” she asked again, but he was already heading toward Porch and his crew.
Charly quickly unbuckled her seatbelt and got out too. She didn’t know those guys like that. She’d be the first to admit that Boone knew them a million times better than she did. But what proof did he have that they had absolutely anything whatsoever to do with what happened at her place? Would it be another case of him arresting somebody based on his intuition?
But then again, she thought as she followed Boone over to her neighbors, it was his intuition that led him to come see about her in the first place. It was his intuition that saved her life.
She decided to be there, but not to dispute him in front of those guys.
And Boone didn’t waste any time as soon as they approached them. “What happened?” he said to Porch. Charly could see his crew grinning, as if they expected Boone to be automatically suspicious of them. Apparently he always was.
Porch, who was leaned against his car, looked at Boone. “How would I know?” he asked him.
“What happened?” Boone asked Porch again.
“I told you I don’t know. Don’t you have criminals to catch? Damn. Why you always harassing me?”
“If you don’t tell me what happened, I will be hauling your ass in,” Boone said. “What happened?”
Charly wanted to look at Boone. She wanted to ask him if he was for real, or just joking? What evidence on the face of this earth did he have against that man?
But she held her peace. For some reason, she sensed Boone knew what he was doing. Boone was her ally, not some random guys in the neighborhood who didn’t give a darn about her. Yet Boone came all the way over to her place just to check on her without even being sure that she needed to be checked on. What man had ever done something like that for her? She couldn’t even count them on one hand because there was none to count.
She was casting her lots with Boone.
“I told you, and I’m gonna tell you again,” Porch said, “I don’t know a damn thing about a damn thing. Don’t try to blame me if your hoe got enemies,” he said and before Charly could say a word, Boone grabbed Porch by his collar and slammed him against Porch’s own car, denting it.
“What did you say?” Boone angrily asked Porch.
“I was just talking, man, that’s all.”
“Apologize to Miss Johnson and do it now!” Boone yelled and slammed him again. “Do it now!”
“I apologize!” Porch said to Charly with bitterness and bite. No man liked to be manhandled, and especially not a leader like Porch.
But Charly didn’t care about any apology. She wanted answers that Boone apparently felt Porch could give to them. “Who shot up my place?” she asked him. “Who tried to kill me?”
“And your ass better talk to her respectfully,” Boone warned.
Porch’s guys stared at Boone. They’d never known him to give a damn about any woman, let alone a black woman. He was known around town as the love’em and leave’em kind of guy. Then they looked at her. What in the world did that chick have that no other woman had ever had before?
“Now answer her question truthfully and with no bull attached, or your ass will be in lockup I assure you,” Boone said.
“But I didn’t do anything.”
“Answer her question!” Boone ordered.
“I don’t know what happened,” Porch said and Boone was about to slam him again. But he spoke up. “I heard things, aw’ight?”
Charly was surprised that he was about to tell them something. But Boone wasn’t. He knew all along Porch wasn’t coming clean with them. “What did you hear?” he asked him.
Porch was a reluctant snitch. But to the surprise of no one since they all knew what Boone Ryan was capable of, he snitched anyway. “I heard some guy was asking around about her.”
Charly was shocked. “Asking about me?” she asked.
“What was he asking?” Boone asked Porch. He needed the details first, not the man’s name. If Porch gave the man’s name first, the details would get too skimpy. Porch would feel as if he gave up the goods when he gave up the name. But the details, to Boone, were critical. The details would often tell who the man was.
“He wanted to know basic stuff like where she lived and did she live alone and where did she work.”
“What did you tell him?” Boone asked.
“I didn’t tell him a damn thing,” Porch said. “That ain’t my fight.”
“What else he wanted to know?” Boone asked.
“Who she was sleeping with,” said Porch with a sly grin. “But I didn’t want to tell him that because I didn’t want to implicate our wonderful chief of police.” His guys laughed.
Charly was mortified. They, too, were leaping to conclusions based on little or no information whatsoever. What kind of town was this?
But Boone was too busy staring at Porch. “You’re lying to me,” he said to him.
“I’m not lying.”
“Who was the guy?” Boone asked.
“How should I know?” Porch responded. “I’d never seen him before.”
“Did he give a name?”
“No.”
Boone stared at him. “You’re lying,” he said again.
“He didn’t give a name!” Porch insisted.
But Boone slammed him against the car again. “You’re lying!” he yelled.
“He didn’t give a name,” Porch said again and Boone, to Charly’s dismay, was about to slam him again. “But I found out his name,” Porch quickly said.
Charly was shocked. Boone really did know what he was doing!
“You found out from who?” Boone asked.
“That’s not important,” said Porch.
“What’s his name?” Boone asked.
“Like I’m supposed to remember some cracker’s name.”
“What’s his name?” Boone said angrily.
“It began with a T, aw’ight? Damn! It was like Taroski or Tanoski something like that. Tajaski.”