Heartbreak of a Hustler's Wife: A Novel by Nikki Turner Read Free Book Online Page B

client is no lady. She’s a menace to society,” Little blurted out.
    “The only menace here is you,” Yarni shot back.
    Judge Fairchild gave a piercing stare to Little, and Yarni felt the pendulum sway her way. “Don’t press your luck, Counselor Pitman-Taylor—or you, Counselor Little. This isn’t a suggestion, it is my ruling.” She removed her glasses as if to finalize her point. “Bail is set at thirty thousand, and Ms. Londers, you must stay out of trouble. One hit, one punch, one uppercut, one jay-walking, and your bond will be revoked. Do you understand?”
    Tangaleena nodded.
    Yarni smiled. “Thank you very much, Your Honor.” The interruption was well worth getting the judge to drop 20k off her own original decision.
    As the bailiff was placing the handcuffs back on Tangaleena’s wrists, Yarni leaned in and softly asked her client if she thought she would be able to raise the money for the bond.
    “Yes, I think so. Thank you so much,” Tangaleena responded with a sigh of relief, visibly proud that this woman was her attorney.
    “No problem, but I’m going to need you to come by my office when you get out of here.” The deputy was in a hurry to haul Tangaleena back to the holding cell, so Yarni quickly let the words roll off her tongue as she put a business card in the shirt pocket of her client’s jail uniform.
    Tangaleena nodded. “I’ll be there as soon as I break outta here.” The bailiff took her to the back. Her family would only have to come up with three thousand dollars, ten percent of the thirty thousand to get her out. Tangaleena looked at her mother, who was now standing at the first pew. “Baby, Dougie got a bondman on standby, so you should be out in a little while. Okay?” Mrs. Londers spoke to her daughter.
    Tangaleena nodded as the deputy led her off.
    Yarni looked toward the rear of the courtroom for the man whose ass she had busted a cap in back in the day. He was nowhere to be found, though. It was as if he’d disappeared into thin air.

Dragon Balls
     
    The brownstone that housed the law firm of Pitman-Taylor had been restored beyond its original brilliance and sat regally in the heart of the historic and legendary Jackson Ward. It was in this same neighborhood where the first black female banker, Maggie Walker, lived, and the famous tap dancer Bill “Bojangles” Robinson and his friends once partied. Ironically, at one time it was also the home of Richmond’s most infamous housing projects.
    Yarni loved the area with all its rich African American history. There was never a dull moment in Jackson Ward, with its diverse culture comprised of people from all walks of life and social settings. There were the old and new residents, the black and the white, the rich and the poor. The neighborhood was a character in itself and seemed to keep Yarni grounded somehow. Her officewas meticulously furnished, although on some days, like today, the aesthetics would be disturbed by the stacks of folders thrown haphazardly across her French-style desk. Let her tell it, some of her best strategies came from the energy of the clutter that surrounded her.
    Since returning from court, she had closed herself off in her office, fully focused on work, not wanting to deal with any of the madness that was going on in her personal life. She had been going over the same case for more than two hours when Layla, her assistant and office paralegal, buzzed.
    “There’s a Ms. Tangaleena Londers here to see you, but she doesn’t have an appointment. She said you told her to come by once she got out of the slammer.”
    Layla always delivered messages exactly the way she received them.
    “They sure didn’t waste any time bailing her out,” Yarni said. “Ask her how about we schedule her for tomorrow. This appeal I’m working on is kicking my butt.”
    “That’s why I’m sending her in—you need to break up some of the monotony.” And the phone went dead.
    Layla was good at her job but she