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Three young, buff men rushed into the pawnshop. One of them said, “You owe us two grand for those little metal people.”
The Brooklyn accent, the dark hair, and the tattoos on his arm all told me this was probably an Italian kid raised in Bensonhurst. In all likelihood, so were his buddies.
The young man who spoke glared at me and said, “We got business here. You need to get your ass moving.”
I chuckled and said, “I don’t think so.”
Chapter14
I MADE ANeffort not to move or show my intentions in any way. The young men from Brooklyn stared me down. Maybe no one had ever told them no. That was the problem with about half the people in the criminal justice system. Their parents told them they could do no wrong and they took it to mean they could do anything without consequences.
Clearly, Ronald didn’t want to talk to these guys in front of me. He was trying to calm them down and get them to come back later.
The guy who’d been doing all the talking, the one in a tight T-shirt with a tattoo of the devil on his left forearm, looked at me and said, “I told you, get out.”
“And I said, I would prefer to stay here.” I tried to keep a pleasant expression on my face. But no matter how you looked at it, we were in a standoff.
Now the second young man stepped forward. He was about twenty-two. Tall and ripped. The gold crucifix around his neck dangled outside his Snoop Dogg T-shirt. His sharp brown eyes stared right at me. “Listen, mister, we got business with Ronald. It don’t concern you.”
Another Brooklyn kid trying to act tough. I kept my face neutral and said, “Thanks, but I’ll refer you to my earlier answer: I think I’ll stay.”
The young man inched closer to me. He wore checkerboard Vans like a surfer, and the rubber soles squeaked a little on the painted concrete floor. He growled at me, “Do you know who my father is?”
I said, “No, does your mother?” The insult took longer to sink in than I thought it would.
When the young man realized what I’d said, his eyes bulged, and he took another step toward me. That’s when I calmly moved a barstool with my foot. It was part of a four-piece set with some kind of bird etched into the contoured seat. Ronald had bought the whole set on sale for $199. I’d been expecting one of the Brooklyn boys to advance. That’s why I’d hooked my foot through the leg of the stool before I ever opened my mouth.
The young man stumbled on the stool for a moment, then had a change of heart. He eased back toward his friends. They looked like football defenders in formation. They were ready for a fight.
Some of this was my fault for having a little fun. I decided to take a different tack. I said, “I can’t leave. I’m Ronald’s attorney.”
The young man with the devil tattoo said, “I thought hewasan attorney. He’s got anEsquireat the end of his name.”
I looked at Ronald Higdon, Esquire. It appeared he did telleveryonehe was a lawyer. I turned toward the three Brooklynites. “Why does he work at a pawnshop if he’s a lawyer?”
“He said he was tired of the bullshit in the criminal justice system.”
“We all are. But that doesn’t give you the right to barge in here and threaten him.”
“He gave us three hundred dollars for some little metal people.”
Ronald mumbled, “Figurines.”
“Whatever they’re called. We found out the four of ’em were worth about twenty-five hundred bucks, not a measly three hundred. We want the rest of the money.” He dropped his voice and added, “Now.”
He pulled an old-school straight razor from his pocket. He flicked it open to let us all get a good look at it. The whole idea of an edged weapon like that is to instill fear. It was working.
Chapter15
INSTEAD OF GOADINGthe young men any further, I did the lame, adult thing: I pulled out my ID. I let them see the badge and said, “NYPD. Do you boys want to spend a few days at Rikers?”
All three of the young men laughed.
I had to ask. “What the hell is so funny?”
“A cop telling us what to do. The mayor of New York City says cops can’t do shit no more. We didn’t do nothing that you could arrest us for. This is a private matter.”
“It would’ve been, except you had to go and pull the razor. I’m not going to let anyone get cut while I’m standing right here.”
