Suave swallowed loudly. “The feud between King Kong and me goes back to our childhood.” Suave gave him a brief synopsis of his parents’ demise, living with Pastor Ralph—but omitting the sexual abuse—and Pastor Ralph’s murder. He spoke about moving in with Mason, Miss Pam, and King Kong, and being a dope boy. Suave also told Alwayne of him launching out on his own, later joined by Cobra and Daddy Lizard and of Mason’s murder. “I know you don’t approve of what I do, but it was all I knew.”
Alwayne’s heart was filled with sympathy for the young Suave. He had a feeling that Suave left out a lot of things that were probably too horrific to talk about. “You and King Kong have been feuding all this time?”
“Yeah. But things escalated when Danny and Saddam, King Kong’s men, killed my best friend and right-hand man, Cobra. Then someone took out Danny, after which my oldest son, Joel, was kidnapped.” Suave omitted the robberies and the fact that Saddam’s grandfather was also killed.
Alwayne looked at Suave in amazement. If Suave didn’t look so serious, Alwayne would have thought he was making everything up. It was like some gangster movie. “For real?”
“I know it’s crazy, and I’m certainly not innocent in all this. But I swear to you I didn’t kill Danny.”
Alwayne didn’t say anything for a few seconds. “Suave, I’m sorry for what you went through as a child. I see how this life you are now living started.”
The two men talked some more about the watch and blood that were found at the crime scene.
“The watch is not an issue,” Alwayne informed him. “As you said, anyone could have bought that watch, but who would have access to your DNA who is associated with King Kong? Any body fluid could be used to frame you.”
Again, an image of Pat flashed before Suave. He didn’t see how Pat could have gotten his DNA. They had never had sex, kissed, or exchanged body fluids. But knowing that conniving sissy, anything was possible.
“Why don’t you think about it and let me know Thursday night?”
“Thursday night?”
“Yes. Men’s Fellowship is at seven o’clock,” Alwayne informed him. “Don’t be late.”
Suave uttered a curse word under his breath. “Fine,” he said through gritted teeth.
“You’re going to need a Bible.” Alwayne saw the horror flash across Suave’s face. “Also, I’ll be filing a motion today with the court to exclude the watch from evidence and informing the prosecutor that I’m now your lawyer.”
“Thank you.”
“I’ll see you Thursday night.” Alwayne stood and shook Suave’s hand.
Chapter Forty-three
“I thought you weren’t coming,” Alwayne said as Suave walked up to him at the top of the church steps. “You’re five minutes late.”
“I’m not late. I was sitting in my car,” Suave pointed to a BMW parked a few feet away, “trying to decide which was worse—church or prison.”
Alwayne smiled. “Here’s your Bible.”
Suave looked at the big Bible like it were a two-headed dragon. “Is that really necessary?”
“If you’ll be attending church with me... as agreed, yes, it is.”
Suave sighed and took the Bible from him. “I hope I won’t have to read all this bull—”
“As a matter of fact, you will.” Alwayne gave Suave a firm look. “Let’s go take our seats.” He walked into the church, with Suave lagging behind.
“Hey.” Suave touched Alwayne on his shoulder. Alwayne stopped in the church aisle and turned around to face him. “Do we have to go to the front?” he whispered.
“We’re going just a few more rows up. Come on.” Alwayne continued down the aisle until he got to the third row from the front. He slipped into the bench beside another man, making room for Suave at the end.
Suave sat and rested the Bible on his lap. Uncomfortable, he glanced around the church at the men in attendance... from teenagers to elders. He noticed that several men were dressed casually like him in jeans, T-shirt, and sneakers, including Alwayne.
“Relax,” Alwayne whispered in his ear. “Bishop Hudson will be starting service soon.”
But Suave only grew more uneasy when Bishop Hudson took the pulpit. He was a powerful-looking man with salt-and-pepper hair, wearing a pair of blue jeans, a white, long sleeved shirt, and white Nike sneakers. The seemingly pleasant pastor greeted the men with a big smile. “It’s great to be in the house of the Lord,” Bishop Hudson said loudly. “And great to have all you men here tonight. Give God some praise!”
“Praise the Lord,” “Amen,” and “Hallelujah” rang out in the church. A few men stood up, lifted their hands to the heavens, and praised God. Suave glanced over at Alwayne and saw that his eyes were closed, and his right hand was lifted as he gave praises to the Lord.
Suave tugged restlessly at the neck of his T-shirt. The thing felt like it was choking him.
“Everyone please stand to your feet for the reading of God’s Word,” Bishop Hudson said when the church quieted down. “Please turn your Bibles with me to Romans 6:23.”
The men stood with their Bibles in their hands, except Suave. Alwayne reached over, touched his arm, and used his fingers to indicate that Suave should stand.
Suave reluctantly stood with his new Bible but kept it closed. He didn’t have a clue where Romans was in the Bible, and he wasn’t going to embarrass himself trying to find it either. It wasn’t like he wanted to read Romans anyway, so whatever . . .
But Alwayne wasn’t making it so easy for Suave. He pushed his Bible over to share with Suave and used his finger to tap the page where the scripture was.
“For the wages of sin is death; but the gift of God is eternal life through Jesus Christ our Lord,” read Bishop Hudson. “That’s the passage we will be discussing tonight. First, let’s pray. Heavenly Father, we give you thanks to be in your presence one more time. We thank you for your blessings to our families and us and
