Tell Them No Lies

By David Buchanan

Tell Them No Lies is a thrilling novel based on true-life events. Stepping into the street game at a very early age, David and a few of his elementary school friends start up a drug spot. Watch how it leads them from juvenile placements all the way to prison. This story will take the reader on a journey from drug dealing to murder, leaving the fate of two best friends in the hands of a twelve person jury. Life for the two young men will be headed in different directions when the jury announces they have reached a unanimous decision.

• Language: English
• Publisher: Page Publishing, Inc.
• Release date: Feb 3, 2022
• ISBN: 9781683484684

Book preview

Chapter 1

The Early Years

The streets ain’t for everyone. That’s why we have the sidewalks, a wise man once told me. Yet he forgot to tell me that some of us were going to be born in the streets. But I was to learn firsthand that the streets weren’t for no one, for that matter. Let me tell you how it all started without telling you no lies.

It was a bright summer day in Richmond, California. And hot indeed it was. Most doors in the neighborhood were open, but the screen doors were closed to keep the flies out, but by all means, it was to let the air flow. It was at the peak of the midday, and Princess was saying it felt like her water bag had bust. No one knew that before morning on this very day of July 19, 1979, that she would be having her first baby boy. Yet the time was here, and as she pushed, a tear ran down her face as she cried from the pain. She prayed to make it through this one. Coming from a family of high belief in Christ, Princess knew the Bible and decided to name her son David, a man of many visions and a warrior.

Taking her son back home to her at St. John’s project apartment, she knew this would be a short stay. This wasn’t where she wanted to raise him. It was a day and time where drugs were just hitting her area. Her boyfriend, now her child’s father, was using them. She only wanted to see what was so good about the new drug, that everyone, especially him, seemed to always want. Even more than her these days. It was crack, and it was moving in fast; and before her son was able to talk good and her second child was to arrive, she had tried it and was hooked like a fish on a fishing line hook.

It was 1981, and the decade was named to be the era of crack babies. Princess was just one of the many who would be named to have just that crack baby. As she delivered her second child, a beautiful little girl, she knew it was no way she was going to go back to that hellhole she called home. Yet with nowhere else to go, the hellhole was back. Now with two kids and crack, the main thing on her mind she promise her oldest, who, at this point, was two years old and starting to understand what she had been doing and that it’s about to be all over. At that point, I think she believed it too. She really wanted better. She always was a beautiful young lady, but she started to see the drug taking its toll on her. However, with her low-life drug head of a kid’s father, nothing was changing fast. The best thing he even had going for him was his mother, father, and sister. They didn’t have much, yet they had one another; and with his parents being retired from very wealthy business, money was the least worry.

Big Mama and Granddaddy was the real meaning of grandparents. With her two kids, both on drugs and having kids, it just seemed like the money her husband had worked so hard for was running low as the years passed. One thing she wasn’t going to do, was let her kids or grandkids get evicted or miss Christmas, birthday parties, new school clothes, or any other special events. With her kids knowing that they neglected their responsibilities to the fullest, letting her pay for everything, every bill they had, as they got their welfare check and had crack parties and ran to her after, the fifth of the month crying about their rent needs to be paid, kids need food, and so on she made sure they were taken care of. Knowing Big Mama had it, worked every time. Needless to say, it was really her daughter crying about her rent money because her bum of a son hadn’t given up his room in her own house, yet he was on his second child and still not looking for nothing but his next hit. But with two kids and no real help, Princess promised her son things were going to change. She really started putting actions with the words. Since her kids’ father and sister was also on crack, they had become good friends over the years and had a lot in common, both had two kids, both had a boy and girl, both having men who also wanted crack more than them and their kids. So as women do, they’d hangout, talk about the good and the bad as the men went out and got the crack.

It was another day in the hood for us, but for the drugs dealers, it was the First of the Month, their favored day. Most of the users like our parents did credit, which meant, throughout the month, when they didn’t have money, they would go to the dealers and ask for it and pay them when their check came on the first. So this first would not be any different.

As I ran behind my older cousin, my dad, sister’s son, I wanted my toy back. We had gotten our favorite meal from McDonald’s with the toy in it, and he wasn’t giving it back. With him knowing we weren’t allowed to come out of the room on the first when the grown-ups had their crack parties, I wouldn’t be getting that one back. Now with the two younger girls now with us stuck in there for hours, I just starting getting their toys.

Yet he was my only boy cousin on my dad’s side. He was my favorite, more like a big brother, and I respected him in every way. Respect would be given; if I didn’t, he would kick my ass. So it always was a losing battle with him.

However, this first of the month would be very different and life changing for all of us. As we heard crying coming from the grow-ups party, my cousin opened the door to see what was going on. He saw a guy standing over my daddy, his uncle, with a gun, beating him with the butt of the gun, saying, You better have the money by the next first bitch-ass nigga. As he said back, I will, I will. Everyone was scared to death as the man exited the apartment, leaving Dad lying in a rug full of blood.

Mom felt that bringing us there now was really getting out of hand and totally unsafe. So that night she got all our clothing, and off we all went to Big Mama’s house. Since my dad had no place of his own and still had his room at Big Mama’s house, Mama and my little sister loaded up his room. Since his sister had smoked up her rent money, as usual, she and her kids were there as well in need of her rent money.

As we all got up to the great smell of eggs, grits, potatoes, ham, and homemade biscuits, Big Mama was up early, cooking for all of us. It was off to be a good day, and as we all ate, loving every bite, a ring came from the doorbell, my dad jump up to get it, but his daddy said, Sit your ass down. You’re not answering my door looking like the elephant man. As everyone busted out laughing, Granddad went to get the door. Nothing seemed funny once he came back and holding a paper, asking Big Mama, What the hell is this they’re talking about we haven’t paid our mortgage in a year and a half, babe? Everyone knew it was because she had been paying Auntie’s rent for about that long. But what was coming next, no one was ready for. At the bottom of the letter was giving them three days to be out of there before the sheriff would come.

Minutes turned into hours, hours turn into days, and news for my family didn’t stop, as we got boxes to help Big Mama pack up her house. It didn’t take Granddad many hours to make a few calls to some of his good friends, who were homeowners, and tell them his situation. One of them had a place he could move into ASAP. He took it no questions.

It was moving time. The truck pulled up and the boxes were being taken to it. I heard Mom and Dad talking, and her telling him that she was pregnant again and wasn’t no way she could continue this life like this—with him having no place, no car, no money, people who were looking for him over crack debts, and Big Mama downgrading to a very small apartment. There was no way she was taking her now three kids to that. Just like that situations had gotten out of control, Princess had to make her next move, her best move, and that it would be.

As Princess sat deep in thought, she knew all ready what she had to do. She didn’t want to go back, but it was her only choice to give her three kids a shot at a good raising. Even though her kids’ father was from Richmond, California, she was from Oakland, California, and since her support group (family and friends) was out there, back home, she was headed plus three.

Chapter 2

Tears ran down all of our faces as my mom, sister (our newest member of the family), my baby brother Joshua, and I put our things in the car and said our good-byes to Big Mama and my dad’s family, the only family I knew of at this point. But I was about to learn today that it was two sides of family that you are born into (Dad’s side and Mama’s side). So far now, it was byes to Dad and his side. And off to momma’s side we went.

The rain made it hard to see out of the windows. But with me to be starting my first year of school this year, big boy that I was, I needed to see where we were going. The ride wasn’t that long really at all; before I knew it, we had arrived at my mom’s grandmother house. She called her Mama. She’s our great-grandmother. The house was beautiful, and best of all, it had much room for us all.

Granny, which is what we were told to call her, was a very old lady with old ways. Granny had eight kids (seven girls and one boy), and they all had kids and all stayed in Oakland. Yet they had all moved out and were living their own lives, so she was more than pleased that her granddaughter was moving in with her kids. Company wasn’t something she was used to so you could feel the love as soon as we entered.

Even though I was just meeting her, I felt so welcomed to be there. Yet the rules had changed and drugs weren’t no longer an issue on this side of my family; they were all drug-free. I don’t even think weed was accepted ‘cause no one ever did it nor made us kids feel like it was cool to do. Nevertheless, I was missing Big Mama and them.

Summer had come and gone, and it was time for me to go to school. It was my first year of school. Since Mama had no car and two other kids, both who were still really babies, she needed help in getting me to school. Since she had so many aunties with kids, it wasn’t hard for her to put me in school with one of them, and she did just that.

Auntie Rose was one of my great-grandmothers many kids, but the one who had a child my age who was going to a school named Hawthorne Elementary. My great grandmother worked not far from Rose’s house, so dropping me off there was to be the plan so that Mom could stay home with the little ones. Yet Rose wasn’t my great grandmother’s’s oldest child (my moms’ mom was), but she was the meanest and strictest of them all. However, the love and warmth were still there. She always treated me the same as her own kids.

Kindergarten started very uncomfortably for many reasons. One, because I knew no one; two, I hadn’t attended preschool, so I hadn’t learned much about behavior. But it was off and ongoing and wasn’t as bad as I thought. As the months passed, Ms. Young’s class was turning out to be really cool. I had found a new friend in her class. We ate together, ran the yard, and got in trouble together. KJ was his name, and now that Ms. Young had separated us in class for talking and playing too much in class, we had to turn our focus back to learning. This worked for that first year, but the separation from each other mostly was a game because, for the next three years, KJ and I had the same teachers over and over. By third grade, our parents decided we needed to be in different classes; it wasn’t working out. But what was working was the new life Mama had brought us into.

I was now going to the fourth grade, and as Mama had promised, things had changed. It was Sunday morning, and everyone was dressed and ready for church (another part of our changes). Everyone went every Sunday, and I really liked it. More so, the singing and dancing they did. But this Sunday was different because Mama was so happy that one of the guys from church had a thing for her and was coming over for our Sunday dinner.

I watched as my mama smiled with joy from having the attention of a man again. They sat back and laughed and kissed as the sun set and the day was coming to an end. It was time for the lovebirds to go their separate ways ’cause there wasn’t going to be any sleeping under Granny’s roof without marriage. But this guy was more than determined to have her, so every day, he was over putting smiles on Mama’s face. Even though it was said that there was to be no intercourse without marriage, somehow, once again, Princess did it again. She was pregnant again. Having to move fast, Issac decided to marry her.

Princess had been clean from drugs for years and was doing so good and only trying to do better. She and Issac moved into their first apartment. Issac was a very well matured and respectful man. He worked nine to five, five days a week, every Sunday church, and didn’t have any kids, which was about to change. Yet he took my siblings and I in as his own and did all he could to be a father to us. He showed me, as a young man, how to be a man. Something I had never seen from my own dad ever.

Issac Henry was his name. To me, he’s a real stand-up man and a father to us. Since we were members of the church, and his uncle was the pastor, a wedding wasn’t hard for them to put together. The church, which was mostly made up of his family was already mixed with ours (which I found out years later) was all one big family once the pot opened up. Nevertheless, it happened. As my mom walked down the aisle, headed to marry this man, I couldn’t help but see how beautiful she was and how much she had overcome. Yet, I was dressed in street clothes not willing to participate in it as my little brother and sister were the ring boy and the flower girl. To me, he didn’t even know my mom, and once he did, would he like the woman that she really was? Nevertheless, he didn’t even know she smoked cigarettes at their party. But it was her day, and the way she was looking, you couldn’t tell her nothing. As they said their vows and enjoyed dinner and a lovely family dance all at the church, I couldn’t believe Mom really had really done it.

Princess was at her best and God had truly blessed her, and she knew it. Since more kids were coming and God had blessed Mom with her housing, we were moving to a bigger place, and I was happy to hear I would be getting my own room. Since I was at school at Hawthorne, Mom found a spot close so that I could walk. Why she picked East Nineteenth Street I could never figure out. The apartment was nice and roomy, upstairs and downstairs, two bathrooms and backyard, it was our best yet, so we were happy about that. But outside it was a whole different world. We had moved in the hood and I saw it every time I went to school and walked back home. Since we moved, my school was closer, but not that close. I lived on East Nineteenth and Twenty-Third Avenue, but the school was on Twenty-Eighth Avenue and East Fifteenth. During the walks back home I would see that we were back in the drug trade again. For years up to this point, Mama had sheltered us from this, and I thought that was all back on that bad ride to Richmond. But I saw it on every block from my house to the school. I guess since no one wanted the extra charges for being in a school zone, every street but the Twenty-Eighth where the school was, people were selling drugs, hanging out, shooting dice, drinking, and seemingly enjoying life with no worries. But school