By 2007 there were over 100 medical marijuana collectives in Los Angeles and so I began to focus on cultivating high grade cannabis for distribution to the newly legalized medical marijuana stores in Los Angeles. Within a few years I was supplying 5 stores in Los Angeles with medical marijuana. My biggest client by far was Organica on the corner of Lincoln and Washington Blvd. In 2009 Organica was raided and closed down by the DEA and LAPD. At the time the owner Jeff Joseph owed me a lot of money from the product that was seized, and he offered to sign controlling interest in Organica over to me in return for a 1/3 share of our new business. I got a 5 year lease on the property at 12320 Pico Blvd on the corner of Centinela Avenue and we started to work on opening Grace Medical Marijuana Pharmacy.
While all this was going on I continued to supply my contacts on the East Coast until disaster struck. My friend Jacob and I were driving back to California from West Virginia in the van with $178,000 stashed in the compartment behind the VCR above us. We had just gone through the tollbooth on the Oklahoma Turnpike headed west when we spotted an Oklahoma State Trooper perched above the overpass staring at us through binoculars.
As we passed under the bridge the Trooper jumped into his cruiser, hit the lights and sped on to the freeway entrance toward us. Jacob was driving and I was in the passenger seat, but I wasn’t worried. We weren’t speeding, we didn’t have a scrap of weed on us and the money was stashed away. I kept my eyes looking straight forward and pretended to play with the radio. Jacob stared straight ahead with no expression on his face. The Trooper pulled up behind us, flashed his lights and ordered us to pull over. The Trooper drew his gun and ordered us to come out of the van hands in the air. He ordered us to get down on the ground and handcuffed us.
More cop cars showed up and a K-9 unit pulled up in front of the van. The dog went around the van and did absolutely nothing but that did not stop them from tearing the van apart and eventually finding the money. We were taken into custody but both of us said absolutely nothing, and we were released.
“Nobody Talks. Everyone Walks”
The Oklahoma Department of Public Safety seized the van and what they claimed was $78,000. I still don’t know why we got pulled over that day and I don’t know what happened to the other $100,000. I guess I’ll never know unless the dirty cop who stole my $100k reads this and confesses. We decided to let things cool off for a minute. Eventually we told everyone that Reggie had opened up a medical shop in California and that I was retired.
It was the fall of 2009, and I planned to do one last black market deal before I got out of the illegal ganja business once and for all. I had sunk all the money we had saved into building the Grace medical cannabis store in West Los Angeles and after the incident in Oklahoma, I was almost out of money. Lisa and I had signed a five-year lease on the property on the corner of Pico Blvd and Centinela Avenue and we had exhausted our savings remodeling the building into a first class medical cannabis facility. After I lost the money in Oklahoma I figured I needed to make enough money off one last deal to keep things going till we could get open.
I planned to meet with these Jamaicans from Miami at the Sheraton in Universal City, but I was running late. I had met Dexter and Karl through the son of one of my heroes Bob Marley. Rohan Marley had played football for the University of Miami while I was at West Virginia University. Rohan had been a standout linebacker with the Hurricanes and had gone on to play a couple of years in the Canadian Football League. This was years before the Marleys got into the cannabis business. Back then Rohan was just starting up his coffee company Marley Coffee and wanted Grace to sell Marley Coffee in our store.
I had already done 2 deals with Dexter, and they had both gone off without a hitch. It was getting dark when I got to the Sheraton in Universal City and I don’t like doing deals after dark. You can’t really see what Ganja looks like without the sunlight. I parked in the Sheraton hotel parking garage and waited for my friend David. David was the best grower in the valley and he was always on time. Not many people in the Ganja business are on time but David was never late. I sat there and watched the lights from the speeding cars on the 405 in the dark, the red taillights streaming up and down the mountain like an electric river of fire or lava flowing from a volcano on some South Pacific Island.
The Crows landed all at once on the railing of the parking garage at the Sheraton in Universal City. By the Crows I mean the family of Crows that lived in the 4 palm trees in my yard. I could tell because Odin, the old crow with one eye, was with them. It had been many years since the war between the Crows and the Owls when I had wounded Odin by mistake. A family of Owls had once tried to build a nest in my next door neighbor Steve’s giant pine tree. The Crows attacked the Owls in the pine tree furiously as they carried twigs and branches into their new nest but the Owls refused to abandon their construction project. It was summertime and sometimes I slept outside on the veranda. I was asleep on the couch when I heard a terrible shrieking and then the sound of the Crows.
“Caw, Caw, Caw!
I looked up and saw that the 2 Owls were attacking the Crows nest and the entire family of Crows, all 7 of them, were defending their nest as best as they could. I can only assume that the Mother Owl was about to lay eggs in their new nest and the Owls did not want the Crows to steal their eggs. The Owls had decided to make a preemptive strike and take out the Crow’s nest before her own eggs were stolen by the Crows. I grabbed the old Daisy Red Ryder BB gun that I kept in the corner to scare off raccoons and possums. The spring was old and the BB’s dropped after less than 25 feet. It wouldn’t kill the Owls but it would sting them a bit. I cocked the BB gun and took a shot at Mr. Owl. The BB struck a palm leaf behind him and he darted away quickly. I cocked the Red Ryder again and took aim at Mrs. Owl. This time the BB hit her square in the behind. She followed Mr. Owl and as they retreated toward the pine tree.
I had mastered the art of reloading and rapid firing the old Red Ryder. and each time the Owls tried to attack the Crows I would open fire on them lobbing BB at them with the old Red Ryder. While taking one of these shots a BB struck one of the Crows in the eye and he fell to the ground in my yard. I went down to check on the Crow who had regained his senses by the time I reached him in the yard. The BB had struck him in the eye and he now glared at me from his remaining eye. He reminded me of Odin the one-eyed god of the Norsemen as he struggled to his feet and flew up into the nest. It was a Saturday and for the rest of the day I guarded the Crow family’s nest. I slept outside again that night and in the morning the Owls were gone. The next evening the Crows all gathered around on my balcony as I played my harmonium and chanted. I could see that one of the Crows was missing his eye from when I shot him. The Crows did not hold a grudge against me though. They knew exactly what was happening that day and that I had defended them. I named the old crow Odin. From that day on the Crow family and I weren’t just neighbors. We were friends.
Crows are highly intelligent birds, capable of problem-solving, tool use, and complex social interactions. They can hold conversations, recognize individual human faces and remember past interactions associating them with positive or negative experiences. Almost all crows live within 5 miles of human populations and so their behavior and cultures have evolved alongside our own. Crows have been observed engaging in contests, ball games and even windsurfing. Crows can hold grudges against people that have harmed them, and they have been observed to leave gifts for humans they perceive as friendly. Crows can learn from each other, including knowledge about dangerous humans, and share this information with other crows and humans.
Now as I sat in the parking lot of the Sheraton and watched the Crows sitting on the railing I could swear that they looked familiar. I was sure that I recognized Odin with his one glassy eye with his family that lived in the 4 palm trees in my yard.
“Could that really be possible?” I thought.
“Did this flock of crows really follow me all the way from Santa Monica?” Technically it was possible. Though it had taken me a half hour to get there it was only 11 miles not really very far “as the crow flies.”
I had just learned that a family of crows is called a murder, and I thought that it was very strange that a “murder” of crows was here. Now I wondered.
“What were the Crows doing here. Were they trying to warn me?”
“You’re losing your mind, Jason.” I mouthed the words out loud. “Where the hell are you David?” I thought.
I reached for my phone to call him again but in the rearview mirror I saw David pull up in his blue Chevy Suburban. David parked next to the green 2006 Toyota Camry I was driving and unlocked the passenger side door. I got out and sat next to him in the Suburban.
David put down his phone.
“How long have you been here?” he asks.
“Almost a half hour.” I replied
“The 405 is a parking lot right now.” he said.
“It took me 30 minutes to get here.” I replied.
“From Santa Monica. Tarzana is another planet right now.
“Let’s get on with it. I don’t want to keep these guys waiting. “I said.
David took a Samsonite laptop case from the back seat and handed it to me. I opened the case. Wrapped in vacuum sealed Foodsaver bags were 2 pounds of super frosty, nugget sized buds. One purple pound. One green pound. I opened the bags and smelled them.
“Just like the doctor ordered 25 OG’s and 25 Purple Kush.”
David beams, grinning ear to ear. He is proud of his work. David unzips two duffel bags in the back. One duffel bag is filled with frosty purple pounds of Purple Kush the second duffel bag with frosty green pounds of OGKush.
“It’s the cold room. It makes the nugs so frosty.” David opines.
My phone buzzes.
“That’s them calling me now. I need to get going. “
“So I was thinking we need to be really careful.” David zips up the bags.
“Of course.” I replied.
“No. I’m serious. Angie is pregnant.” David’s mood turns grave.
“Congratulations Papa Bear!”
“Well Papa Bear hasn’t paid the trimmers. I’m behind on the rent and the electric bill. If anything goes wrong, we are going to have to move in with Angies’s mom.”
“Tell me about it. I’ve sunk every dime we have into building the store.” I admitted. “ I’m in debt up to my ears and I still don’t know how we are going to get the rest of the money to finish.”
“That doesn’t make me feel better.” David was getting nervous.
I try to calm him down.
“Don’t worry. We are going to get you all your money right now.”
“Well, I was talking it over with Angie and we decided that we should get half the money up front in case something goes wrong. “
“I’m supposed to be bringing them 50 pounds. They’re not going to just hand me the money like I’m running to get them a dime bag from around the corner. “
“But I’m supposed to just hand you my entire harvest? What if you don’t come back with the money?”
“What’s that supposed to mean?”
“I didn’t mean it like that. But seriously, how well do you know these people? You just admitted to me you don’t have the money to cover it if something does go wrong.”
“I told you I’ve done this twice before with them already. I met them through Bob Marley’s son for crying out loud.”
“Well Bob Marley has a lot of kids.”
“What is that supposed to mean?” I ask him.
“Exactly what I said. The man had a lot of kids. To you this is just another deal. You make the exchange and pick up your money. Everything I have is tied up in this and Bob Marley is not going to come back from his grave and pay my bills if something goes wrong”
“Hey, I need this too. Why don’t I just take one of the bags with me? I’ll come back with the money and get the other half.”
“No. I promised. Bring the sample case with you. They can give you half the money and you can bring one bag up. When they give you the other half of the money you can bring them the other bag.”
My phone rings.
“They’re calling again.”
David hands me the Samsonite case.
“Fine.” I grab the Samsonite case and get out of the car.
Once I’m out of the car I answer the phone.
“Yeah, Everything’s good. I’m on my way up. No, I don’t need any help. Yes, everything is here. I’ll see you when I get there. “
David watches me nervously as I walk toward the elevator. I push the button for the 9th floor. The door opens and I get in. The elevator stops in the lobby first and fills up. The ride up takes forever because the elevator has to stop and let the passengers out of the elevator onto their floors. Standing there holding the Samsonite laptop case I wonder if the passengers can smell the skunky weed through the vacuum sealed packaging. The elevator finally stops on the 9th floor and I get out.
I walked toward room 912 and knocked on the door. Karl, light skinned, clean cut, wearing a tan cardigan sweater and reeking of Polo answers the door. Dexter, dark skinned dreadlocked and dressed in camo pants and a khaki tank top sits in the chair. I step into the room carrying the Samsonite laptop case. Dexter gets up, shakes my hand and comes in for a hug.
“Haha finally. I was fretting some just now.”
“You know traffic in LA.”
“Is everything ok? Are we good?”
“We’re better than good. Here let me show you.”
I laid the Samsonite laptop case down on the bed. Dexter opened it. Karl opens the bags. Smells the ganja. Shows it to Dexter. Dexter takes a deep inhale.
“It’s a fire to be sure but this is supposed to be 50 pounds man. I see only two. Where da rest?
“The guy I am getting it from wants half the money up front first.”
“So you have it in your car?”
“No. He still has it.”
Dexter is getting annoyed now.
“So call him and tell him to bring it up.”
“I have to bring half the money to him first.”
“Come on. You know the money stays here. I need to see what I’m paying for when I pay for it.”
“I understand but it’s a lot of weight. He wants to be careful.
“Sure. But I gotta be careful too.”
Dexter reaches into his backpack and pulls out a Beretta 9-MM pistol.
Dexter holds the barrel to my neck.
“You know what this is?”
I raise my hands slowly.
“Yeah.”
“And do you understand?”
“I do. Just take it easy.”
“Tie him up!”
Karl grabs my hands and pulls them behind my back. He zip ties my hands together. Karl zip ties my feet together with a second zip tie. I don’t resist.
“There’s no need for all this.” I say “Just take it and let me go. I won’t say anything to Blakak”
Dexter holds the phone up to my face.
“You are going to call your partner on the phone. Tell him to bring the stuff up here now.”
“He won’t do it without the money. His wife…”
Dexter smashes the butt of his gun into my nose. Blood spurts from my nose dripping on to the carpet. I look down at the blood dripping from my nose onto the white carpet.
“Do you want to grab a towel or something for this mess?” I ask. Surely they would want to keep the room clean and not leave evidence I think.
Dexter smashes the butt of the Barretta into the back of my neck knocking me to the ground.
“Shut the fuck up!”
I lay face down on the ground and looked at the pool of blood forming on the floor in front of my face. Up till now I had been calm because I assumed that this was a simple jack move and that they planned to let me live. Now I realized these people weren’t thinking ahead. They were stupid, they were desperate but they couldn't afford to let word about this get out. They weren't planning to let me live. I was about to become a statistic.
Karl grabbed a towel from the bathroom, but Dexter smacked the towel away. Dexter grabs the back of my head and pushes me down, grinding my face into the bloody carpet. I was now laying face down, with my hands and feet zip tied together. Karl goes through my pockets grabbing my wallet and keys. Dexter puts the Baretta to the right side of my head.
“I’m only going to ask you a question one time. You answer me the first time. Do you understand?”
“Yes.”
“Are you driving the Camry?”
“Yes.”
“Is your partner parked next to you?
“Yes.”
“What kind of car is he driving?”
“A silver Honda.” I lied out of pure instinct, instantly regretting it, but not wanting to change my story now. This was no time to play hero.
Dexter smashed the butt of his Barretta into the back of my head. I fell to the ground stunned. I closed my eyes pretending to be unconscious. I couldn’t really see any advantage to being conscious at the moment so I decided to play possum and pretended to be out cold. Dexter kicked me in the ribs just to be sure but fortunately he knocked the wind out of me and I didn’t have the breath to cry out. I stayed limp, kept my eyes closed and prayed he wouldn’t hit me again.
“Do it and let's go.” Dexter commands.
Karl pulls out a roll of DUCT tape from the back and stuffs a tennis ball into my mouth. The Karl DUCT tapes the tennis ball into my mouth. Karl takes a third zip tie from the backpack and hogties my hands and feet together.
“All right. Silver Honda. Let’s go.” Dexter commands. As I hear them walking away I crack open my eye and see Karl pick up the Samsonite laptop case. Dexter puts his gun away in his belt. The door opens and closes behind them.
I laid there face down on the carpet on the floor of the Sheraton with a Penn tennis ball duct taped into my mouth, and my arms, feet and legs hogtied behind my back. Blood was dripping from my nose onto the white carpet forming a pool of blood that felt warmed and sticky on my face.
“This is really bad.” I thought to myself. There were video cameras all over the hotel and these clowns were leaving clues all over. They didn’t even put a towel down to soak up the blood.
“Who does stuff like that? I asked myself.
“Stupid people and stupid people are dangerous.” I answered my own question. If they found David and robbed him they would be back and then what. If they didn’t find David they would know that I lied to them and then what? “Killed by some fucking spooks from Miami in a drug deal gone bad?” I could just see my dad saying after all I had been through. Was this how it was really going to end? I thought of my wife Lisa and my three boys Jordan, Max and Brady. I wished I had spent more time with them that morning. I had bought a $1,000,000 life insurance policy but I was pretty sure it wouldn’t pay off if I was killed while involved in criminal activity. “Fucking bean counters thought of everything.” I thought and laughed even though with the tennis ball in my mouth it hurt my bloody nose to laugh.
I closed my eyes and my mind drifted back to when I was 11 years old. We were all swimming in the Jamuna River in Vrindavan, India. The monsoon rains had cut huge sand cliffs into the sides of the river bank. Some of us were splashing water at the base of these sand cliffs. As the sand at the base of the cliff was washed away the cliffs would split off into huge chunks of sand and crash into the water. All of us would then scatter out of the way to avoid the “sand rocks.” While splashing the cliffs one day a huge “sand rock” broke off and fell on me and trapped me at the bottom of the river. I struggled to get free but it was no use. The “sand rock” was too big. Pinned face down to the bottom of the Jamuna river by the “sand rock” I was convinced I was going to die. “At least I will die in Vrindavan, the birthplace of Krishna and the most holy place on earth.” I thought. So I made my peace with my death and stopped struggling. Almost immediately after I stopped struggling, I felt someone grabbing my legs. Then someone else grabbed my hand. Before I knew it, my classmates had rolled the “sand rock” off me and pulled me to the surface. I gasped for air and looked up at the sky. There was a flock of crows flying above me. “Caw, caw, caw!” the crows cried out.
Back at the Sheraton Universal City, I heard the crows outside.
“Caw, caw. Caw!”
I snapped out of my daydream. I opened my eyes and looked up at the window. Odin the crow with the glassy eye was sitting on the balcony outside the window. Now there was no doubt in my mind that it was him. I stared at Odin. Odin stared at me. Then Odin bent down, and then began hopping along the ledge outside the window.
Suddenly I got the idea that I might break the third zip tie that hogtied my hands and feet together, get to my feet and and hop out of the room. I had heard stories of people under extreme stress gaining temporary super strength enough to lift a car to save a child or to pull themselves to safety. Maybe I could break the third zip tie and hop out of the room as Odin was trying to show me.
I rolled on to my side. With all my strength I pulled my legs away from my arms. To my utter and complete surprise the 3rd zip tie holding my arms and legs together slipped apart. Like it was nothing. No it wasn’t because I had gained super strength. In their hurry they had put the third zip tie through backwards and it did not hold. It really was better to be lucky than good.
I rolled toward the wall. Using the wall to help me up I struggled to get to my feet. I tried to pull my arms and legs apart but no luck. Those zip ties held fast. Hands still zip tied behind my back and my feet still tied together I hopped toward the door. Blood spurted from my nose over the tennis ball in my mouth and onto the carpet creating a trail from where I was lying down to the door. I turned my back on the door and stood on my tiptoes. With my zip tied hands behind my back I pushed the door handle down and pulled the door open.
I peeked out the door into the hallway. No one was there. I hopped out of the room and down the hallway. Blood spurted from my nose onto my shirt and the carpet with every jump. I hopped toward the elevator. I turned my back to the elevator, stood on my tiptoes and pushed the Down button with my zip tied hands. I backed away from the elevator and watched the lights, as the elevator got closer. 1,2,3,4,5,6,7,8,9. The elevator doors opened. I prayed that it wouldn’t be Dexter and Karl.
A blond Australian family with their son and daughter stepped out of the elevator. They looked at me stunned. Suddenly everyone screamed at once horrified at my bloodied face, the tennis ball duck taped into my mouth and my shirt soaked with blood. Dad stepped forward.
“Charlotte. Call the police.” Dad says
Charlotte dialed 911 on the house phone on the table next to the elevator.
Dad then took the duct tape off my mouth. I spit the tennis ball out onto the floor.
“No police.” I blurted out.
The last thing I wanted to do is explain this to LAPD.
“Why not?” Dad asked me. “Are you in trouble with the law?”
“No. It’s not that. I’m in the entertainment business and I don’t want people to see me like this.” I lied quickly.
“I’m calling the police.” Charlotte lets me know. We can’t have these maniacs running around. They may hurt other people.”
“That’s right. Now hold out your hands.” Dad says.
I hold out my hands. Dad takes out a new Universal City souvenir Zippo torch. Dad presses the flint hammer. The Zippo torch lights. Dad melts the zip tie off my hands with his Zippo torch.
“Just picked this up today. Somehow I knew it would come in handy. Isn’t that funny.”
“Hilarious.” I answer under my breath, incredulous and wondering just how I am going to get out of this pickle.
“I’m sorry. I don’t imagine that it’s funny to you.” Dad is truly apologetic.
“Actually it is.” I reply, cracking a bloody smile. Now it dawns on me that no matter what happens I’m going to live and that is definitely a good thing.
Dad melts the zip tie off my legs with the flame from his Zippo.
“That’s the spirit. We’ll have you out of there in no time.”
Charlotte hangs up the phone.
“The police are on their way.”
I do my best to hide my disappointment. Dad lays the melted zip ties on the table next to the house phone and the pieces of duct tape. Charlotte takes out a pack of baby wet wipes from her purse and hands them to me.
“Now let’s get you cleaned up.”
I go to the mirror on the wall and start to work on cleaning up my face.
“Are you alright? Do you need to go to the hospital?” Charlotte asks me.
“No. I’m okay.” I answer.
I look like hell but I feel much better now that the tennis ball is out of my mouth and my nose has stopped bleeding.
I wipe the blood from my nose and my face and toss the used wet wipes into the garbage. I manage to get most of the blood off my face but my shirt is still covered in blood which is starting to dry now.
Two LAPD officers step out of the elevator.
“I’m Officer Kirby. This is Johnson. Are you the victim?”
“Yes.” I reply.
“I need to ask you a few questions.” he tells me. Can you get a statement from them?”
“Sure.” Johnson replies.
Johnson takes Dad, Charlotte and the kids aside.
Kirby interviews me.
“Can you step this way please?”
I follow him gingerly.
Kirby puts on a rubber glove. Picks up the bloody tennis ball off the floor and sets it on the table next to the melted zip ties. Kirby eyes me suspiciously.
“So tell me what happened?”
I rubbed the back of my neck and shook my head.
“Well I’m not really sure.” I replied. “I was hanging out with these guys and I guess they hit me over the head and robbed me. I woke up and my wallet, my phone and my keys are gone.
“Are you a guest at the hotel?” Kirby asks me.
“No. They were.” I reply.
“How did you get here?” Kirby continues to press me.
“I drove.”
“Where is your car?”
“In the parking garage.”
“Do you use narcotics?”
“No."
“Are you involved in the sex trade in any way?” Kirby eyes me suspiciously.
“Uh no.” I answer looking him dead in the eye.
“I have to ask.”
Kirby picks up the melted zip 1/2-inch zip ties.
“So you broke one of these?”
“No. There was a third zip tie but when I pulled my legs and arms apart it came loose. They must have put the third zip tie in the wrong way.”
“Right. Do they know what your car looks like?”
“Yes.”
“Let’s go see if we can find your car?”
“Ok.”
Kirby and Johnson step into the elevator.
I follow them.
I pushed the button marked P-2.
Watching the lights in the elevator flash 9,8,7,6,5,4,3 on the way down I started to panic. I really did not want the cops to find Karl and Dexter and I definitely did not want them to find David. This was turning into a nightmare.
The polished steel doors to the elevator slide open. The green Camry is still parked against the wall. I breathed a sigh of relief when I saw that David and the blue Suburban are gone though. To the left of the Camry Dexter and Karl sit in the Black Dodge Charger facing us looking for David. Kirby and Johnson exit the elevator. I follow them.
“That’s them on the left.” I whisper to the cops dropping the dime on them. “In the black Charger.” I tell Kirby and Johnson.
Kirby and Johnson draw their guns.
“LAPD! Hold it right there. “
Approach the Charger from the left.
Inside the Charger, Dexter and Karl duck down. Karl opens the passenger door. Then Karl and Dexter crawl out the side of the car and duck behind the car.
“LAPD! Hands in the air now!“ Dexter and Karl run. They hang off the rail of the second floor of the parking garage and drop to the street below. Kirby and Johnson run towards the stairs chasing after them.
“Stay here.” Kirby orders me.
“Yes sir” I replied.
Kirby and Johnson run after Dexter and Karl. From outside comes the sound of more SIRENS. Outside, more police and a helicopter arrive. I can hear the sounds of the pursuit outside but I’m left alone.
I walked toward the black Charger. I peeked inside. My wallet and the keys to my Camry were in the console. I started to reach in the window to get my keys but then I noticed that the door was unlocked. I opened the door, reached inside and grabbed my wallet and my keys. Out of the corner of my eye I spotted the Samsonite laptop case in the back seat. I reached into the back and grabbed the Samsonite case. I unzipped it just a bit and saw that the 2 pounds of Purple Kush and OG were still in the Samsonite. I zipped it back up.
I looked around. The parking lot was empty. There were no cameras. I grabbed the Samsonite laptop case from the back seat of the Charger, walked toward the Camry and opened the trunk. I took the two pounds of Purple Kush and OG out of the Samsonite. Stashed them under the spare tire of the Camry in the trunk. Closed the trunk.
Just as Officer Kirby and Johnson come up the stairs sweaty and disappointed.
“Did you get them?” I asked knowing the answer and thrilled that it was no.
“No.” Kirby answers. “They ran across the freeway and over to the other side. We did recover the gun. He tossed the weapon after they made the jump from the parking garage.”
“Well do you need anything else from me?” I ask them.
“No. We have your information. A detective will contact you. Do you need a ride home?
“I found my hide key. I’m going to drive home if that’s ok.
“That should be fine. “
Johnson shows me the third zip tie. It is connected backwards and slides back and forth.
“You see. If you put these on backwards, they slide back and forth. The third zip tie was put in backwards. You got really lucky. Someone must be watching over you.” Johnson tells me.
“That’s what they tell me” I answer. “I hope you catch those guys.” I responded. “I know you must have gave them a hell of a scare.”
“They’re not too bright so it’s only a matter of time before they end up getting caught up but there’s no telling how much damage they’ll do before that happens.” Johnson muses. “
“You got their car and their gun. I’m going to call this a win.” I tried to encourage them. After all, I still had my keys, my wallet and even the weed. I just wanted to get the hell out of there.
“This could have turned out a lot worse.You’ve got one hell of a story to tell.” Kirby tells me.” You better be more careful from now on.”
“I know. I’m just lucky I guess.” I replied.
“It’s probably not a good idea to press your luck.”
“Well I really should get home.” I say deciding to heed Kirby’s advice.
“We’ll be in touch.” Kirby says.
I got into the Camry and started the engine. I backed out slowly, put the car in gear and pulled away from Kirby and Johnson slowly. Then I watched them grow smaller and disappear completely in the rearview mirror. I turned on the radio. Ice Cube’s song” It was a good day” was playing.
“Even Saw the lights of the Goodyear Blimp
And it read Ice Cube’s a Pimp.
I gotta say it was a good day.”
I finally made it home and Lisa was waiting for me in her pink silk nightgown, her eyes swollen from crying. As I laid there in bed, she bent over me and put an ice pack on my head and painted liquid skin on my cuts which burned like hell. Even in my damaged condition I couldn’t ignore her breasts as they heaved as she sighed as I told the story, before she finally burst into tears crying.
You could have been killed. I want you to stop.” she cries.
“Stop what?” I asked.
“I want you to get out of this business before you get killed. All these years I’ve been worried about you going back to jail. I’ve tried not to think about how embarrassing that would be for the kids and my parents, but this is too much. You could have been killed and left for dead in that hotel and I would have had to come and identify your body.”
“I’m sorry.”
“Sorry doesn’t fix something like this and these people are still on the loose. Do they know where we live?”
“No. The address on my license is at our mailbox.”
“But they know where the store is.”
“At the store we’ll have a safe and armed security and we’ll be able to call the police. That’s why we need to open the store so I don’t have to do business in hotels and parking lots. People will be able to come in and buy and sell legally.”
“I still hate it. I hate this business. People act like it’s all peace and love but that is just bullshit. People get killed all the time.”
“Not all of it is bullshit. It does help a lot of people.”
“No more street deals. Promise me everything you do from now on will be at the shop and legal. I want you to promise me.”
“We still need to come up with the money to finish.”
“Then find a way, but I want you to promise me no more side deals.’”
“I promise.” I mouthed the words reluctantly hoping that I would be able to keep my promise. I had just survived in a situation that I thought I had no chance of getting out of. I had no idea how I would get through this but after what had just happened, I had come too far to stop. I had to try.
I decided to ask Devon to loan me $50,000. Devon was now operating his silver business Lone Ones out of a warehouse off Jefferson Blvd in Culver City. I had also been growing cannabis in half of Lone Ones' shop because the silver business had been slow, but when I asked Devon to lend me the money, he was not enthusiastic. The Feds had been raiding shops in LA for years and if we got shut down it would be a long time before he saw his money. I told him that President Obama had just taken office and his Attorney General Eric Holder had announced that the Federal government would no longer participate in raids against legal medical marijuana stores. Devon’s mother had passed away from complications due to the interaction of her medications a few years ago and his father Howard Wheeler had used ganja all his life and had used it for pain during his battle with cancer. I thought that Devon would be receptive to my cause and loan us the money we needed to finish but he turned me down flat. He wanted to come in as a partner.
I was seriously pissed at Devon for not lending me the money, especially after I had lent him $200,000 just a few years ago and he had made me wait two years to pay me back. Devon did have good connections with Hollywood’s pedo-elite because of his jewelry business but I had decided a long time ago that I didn’t want to have anything to do with that blood money. It really did blow my mind that so many people loved jewelry carved by a notorious pedophile like Leonard Khamhout who had begun to molest his own daughter at the age of 9. What was even worse was that I had to admit that the jewelry Leonard carved was fabulous. The thing is most predators aren’t just hairy old men in trenchcoats. They are talented, charming, persuasive and successful people who other people want to be like. Michael Jackson, Roman Polanski, Woody Allen, Harvey Weinstein, Mike Tyson, Ron Jeremy, Bill Cosby, Tupac Shakur, Jeffery Jones, Kevin Spacey, R. Kelly , Michael Jordan, Britney Spears, Brad Pitt, John Travolta, Tommy Lee, Anthony Kiedis and Marylyn Manson were all talented and famous celebrities that were accused of sexual misconduct but people still listen to their music and watch their movies because they are talented. The truth about predators is that most people are secretly jealous of them and wish they could be like them. People love to denounce predators in public but worship them in secret.
I said goodbye to Devon, jumped on the 10 Freeway and headed west toward Santa Monica. It was my first year as Offensive Coordinator for the Freshman team at Santa Monica High School and our team was turning out to be pretty good. The minute I got on the field the nagging voice in my head stopped like it always did. This is why coaching football has been such a blessing to me. On the football field, I was completely absorbed in the planning and the execution of our game plan. Football has always been a great escape for me because I have to stay in the moment and not think about the past or the future. I have to stay in the present. I once read.
The past is history.
The future is a mystery.
The present is a gift.
That’s why we call it the present.
I love that saying. It was halfway through the season and the kids were playing solid football. We were making solid tackles, and our blocking was improving every week. We had lost badly to Matre Dei and to Hart High School but they were both powerhouse teams. We had won our last two games before dropping a game to Hart High School and if we could beat Valencia that week, I thought the Santa Monica Vikings freshman football team was on track to winning the rest of our games.
We spent the day doing our offensive install for the week and I was very happy with our progress. Our running game had really improved since our running back Ray Mancini Jr. had learned to follow his blocks. Ray Jr. was the son of boxer Ray Mancini who had been a great fighter from Youngstown, Ohio back in the 80’s. Ray Mancini had retired from boxing after killing a Korean boxer named Duk Koo Kim in the ring and was now a thoughtful and enthusiastic presence at the games. Mancini’s son Ray Jr. had blazing speed but a tendency to get out ahead of his blocks. For weeks we had been working with Ray Jr. trying to get him to run straight to the hole for “5 tough yards” instead of bouncing it outside when he didn’t see an opening right away and getting stopped for a loss. It took some time for Ray Jr. to learn to let his blocking develop and trust that the hole would be there by the time he got there. Now that Ray Jr. was “running on faith” and trusting his blockers, our running game was becoming methodical and punishing instead of explosive but inconsistent. These inside runs also set up our quick play action game and our passing game was becoming crisp and efficient.
After practice one of the Viking moms from the team Lisa Frank whose son Clayton played for me approached me. Lisa was a pretty blond and her and my wife, who was also named Lisa, had been good friends for a long time. Lisa had been our real estate agent when we bought our house and Lisa’s mother Suzy Frank was the owner of Abbot Kinney Real Estate. Suzy Frank was one of the shrewdest businesswomen I have met. She had owned a bunch of property along Abbot Kinney in Venice and had made a small fortune when property values had skyrocketed after Google had moved its headquarters to Venice. Lisa had offered to represent us when we leased the building on Pico and Centinela for Grace but I was already under contract with another agent at the time. I know that Lisa was disappointed that we did not think of her at the time so I was a bit apprehensive when she approached me. If she was bitter, she didn’t show it.
“Hi Jason.” She let the words roll off her tongue casually letting me know that if there were any hard feelings they were gone now.
“Hi Lisa. Did you see Clayton out there today?”
“I did. He looks great.” she replied. “So can we beat this team? Clayton says they’re really good.”
“Valencia is undefeated, but I think we can beat them.”
“How is the construction going?”
I hesitated for a moment, ashamed to admit that I had run out of money, but it had been a long day and my defenses were worn down.
“We’re pretty much screwed.” I admitted. We’ve sunk all our money into the place and we still need to come up with at least $25k to finish up and probably another $25,000 to keep it running till we start to make money.”
“So $50,000. You should ask my mom to lend it to you. She just made a bunch of money.”
“I’m not going to ask Suzy.”
“Why not? How long have we known each other?”
“Let me see.” I thought about it.
“It’s been about 7 years.”
“You guys are like family to us.”
“Still I can’t ask Suzy.”
“I’ll ask her then.”
“You would do that really?”
I was completely floored. In all my life, absolutely no one had ever come forward and offered to help me like this.
Lisa’s son Clayton and my son Jordon walked out of the locker room and towards us. Jordan was tall and thin already 6’3 as a freshman with sandy blond hair like his mother. Clayton was about 5’8 with short black hair, solid muscle with the face and the demeanor of a middle linebacker. The two of them had been friends since they were 6 years old and had been playing football together just as long. They bumped fists casually and split up. They were so cool.
Lisa and Clayton got into her white BMW 328.
“So I’ll ask her tonight.” Lisa said waving goodbye.
“Thank you”
“She better say yes too.” she added.
“Good night.”
As Jordan and I drove west on Pico Blvd towards home, he
questioned me.
“Ask her what?” he wanted to know.
“Lisa is going to ask Suzy Frank to lend us the money to finish the store.”
“I thought you were going to borrow the money from Devon.”
“I did. He said no.”
“Why?”
“He wants to be a partner.”
“You can’t be partners with him. He drove all his other partners crazy.”
“Well at any rate Lisa is going to ask Suzy to lend us the money. Maybe she will.”
“She will. You should hear how she talks about you. She loves you.”
“I thought she was still mad because we lost to Lakewood 2 years in a row.”
“Will you stop it? That Lakewood team only lost one game in 5 years and that was to Gardena.” So we lost 3 championships in 4 years. We’re the Buffalo Bills of pop-Warner.”
“You know that I rooted for the Buffalo Bills in all those Super Bowls, every time even though I’m a Dolphins fan.”
“I’m sure you did. You love the underdog.”
“The Buffalo Bills of Pop-Warner. I like that. I mused.
“So Dad when we were watching film on Valencia I noticed that their biggest plays were on screens, especially the middle screen. I think we should play Cover 3 against them and have the middle linebacker spy the quarterback runs and screens.”
I’ll mention it to Coach Ken. He is the Defensive Coordinator.” I said.
“I was just thinking that when we run scout offense against the Defense, we make sure they see a lot of the middle screen. They are really good at running it.” Jordan continued.
“That’s a good idea. I’ll go over it again with the O-line tomorrow. Is there anything else?” I asked.
“Get some new shoes.” Jordan said.
“What’s wrong with these shoes? They’re comfortable.” I protested.
“Come on. You asked and I’m telling you. Kids look at shoes. Get some Nikes. You’ll feel better.” he insisted.
“Thanks. I don’t know what I would do without you?”
“Me neither.”
As we pulled up to the house my phone rang. It was Devon.
“Yo what’s up.” I answered it.
There was a lot of noise in the background. People were talking and laughing and I heard bottles clinking. For a minute I thought it was a butt dial.
“Reginald what are you doing?” Devon yelled on the phone over the noise calling me by my old street name Reggie.
“I’m just getting done with practice.” I replied
“Woodrow is having a party. You should come by?”
“It’s been a long day and I have to get up early tomorrow to take care of the plants. I’m going to crash. Besides, isn't Woodrow still butthurt with me after I told him that his raw food diet made him look like a crackhead on TV.”
“He is not eating raw only anymore and he’s looking a lot better so I think he’s over it now.”
“Well good because I was just looking out for him.”
“Listen, I’m here at Woodrow’s and all everyone is talking about is how now is the time to get into the weed business. Obama is not going to enforce cannabis laws in medical states.”
“That’s what I’ve been trying to tell you.” I yelled back at him.
“So let’s do it. Listen, I just had a great idea.”
“Oh yeah what is it?” I inquired.
“We just finished a line of jewelry and we called it grace which is French for grass. The jewelry was very leafy and flowery and didn’t sell very well but I was thinking we could use all the art and the branding from the line and call the store Grass.”
“That’s actually not a bad name.” and I had to admit it was.
“So we use my branding, I’ll put up the rest of the money and we do a 50/50 split. What do you say?”
“The thing is I already asked Lisa to ask Suzy Frank for the money.” I protested.
“Oh forget Suzy. Tell Suzy thanks but no thanks. Come by the shop tomorrow and I’ll have the money for you. Come man this our chance. It’s going to be huge. I promise.”
“Ok, I’ll see you tomorrow.” I said.
“You won’t regret this homie. I promise.” he said.
It turned out that they had misspelled “grass” in French and had spelled it as “grace.” So we opened the store with a sign that read “grace” thinking that “grace” was how you pronounced “grass” in French. When people came in and saw my mother working at the front desk they would always ask if she was Grace. My mother tried to explain that the store was actually called “grass” but everyone seemed disappointed. They liked the name Grace. So, my mother Olive Marguerite Moore, prodigal daughter of a minister, mother of 9 children and Ganja smuggler took on the name “Grace”. We stopped telling people the store was called “grass” because they didn’t want to hear it. That is how the name of the store went from grass to Grace. Grace, defined as simple elegance, refinement and compassion became both our name and our mission statement.