Page 18 of My Brother’s Locksmith Friend

My mind jumps to a million different conclusions about Hendrix and his plan to stop Roy from being a menace to everyone that seems to cross his path. I can see the gears grinding in his head as we drive to my building, where I ask Lucille to meet us at my apartment.

She agrees, thinking it’s about a repair, but the minute she spots Hendrix with me, her face pales.

“I don’t know what’s going on, but leave me out of this,” Lucille says before we reach my door.

“Why are you so nervous, ma’am?” Hendrix asks her as we get closer.

I unlock the door and head inside, and Lucille follows.

“I really don’t want any trouble. I can pay for whatever Roy took out of here,” Lucille says.

Hendrix sighs heavily, “Ma’am, we don’t want your money. We want to help you help us.”

“What do you have in mind?” Lucille asks him.

My curiosity is chomping at the bit too.

Hendrix points to different areas of the living room where both of us look and don’t see anything. He tells us, “I have cameras in here, and I have a few more I want to put around the apartment. The best way to get rid of Roy is to catch him in the act.”

Lucille’s voice drips with fret and worry. “I don’t know if that’s a good idea. What if whatever you’re cooking up doesn’t work? If Roy finds out he’s trying to be set up, he can come back. I can’t have that. I won’t.”

I approach Lucille, taking her hands into mine. “Lucille, listen to me. Hendrix isn’t going to let anything happen to you or to me. Look at him.”

She takes a moment, letting her eyes scale his entire frame, and shifts her gaze back to me. “Are you sure? It’s just that you weren’t here when he insisted on becoming the permanent repairman.”

Hendrix approaches us. “Ma’am, look at me. Does it look like Roy Jonas can intimidate me?”

“Well, no–” she stammers.

Hendrix nods and continues. “If it helps put you at ease, I have two brothers who will help in this plan and the police will be on standby.”

His phone rings, and he picks it up with a quick grin, holding it out for us to see, “And that’s one of my brothers now.”

Hendrix answers the call immediately. “River, good. I need you. I’m texting you the address.”

I look around my space and wonder what exactly Hendrix has in mind, but I don’t have to wait long before there’s a heavy knock on my door. Hendrix opens it for two men who look strikingly identical to him. In my apartment, they seem to take up the entire space.

“Hayden, Hudson, this is Miss Lucille, and this is my Havana,” Hendrix introduces us to his brothers.

Lucille gulps as Hayden takes her hand. “Ma’am.”

Hudson repeats the gesture, “Lovely to meet you.”

They both turn to me with a smile and glance at each other, an inside joke in their eyes, but I truly want to get to the bottom of what Hendrix has in mind.

“So Jimi,” Hudson starts, equally tall but his hair’s dark brown compared to Hendrix’s black, same length. Hayden stands a few inches taller than his brothers, clean cut, and his dark brown hair looks as if it’s gotten a fresh trim.

Hudson smiles. “What are we doing?”

“I’m not running across this building’s roof,” Hayden replies with finality.

Hendrix laughs. “I’m not asking you to do anything like that. We just want to catch a rat in a trap, boys. Roy’s been busy and I think I have his racket down. He muscles his way into buildings like this one, where Miss Lucille here can’t and won’t put up a fight. He takes overrepairsand makes sure there’s constant emergencies in folks’ apartments.”

Hayden nods. “Yeah, like a dirty mechanic, always breaking something while supposedly fixing something else to give you a reason to go back to him.”

Hudson chimes in, “Or in this case, gives y’all a reason to call him back inside the apartments. He pinches what he can and takes it to that pawn shop.”

Lucille looks hopeless. “So what are we going to do? Can’t we just call the police to handle this?”

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