community behind.
"Is this a shortcut or something?" I asked. "I
know I didn't come this way."
"Whenever we find a vehicle deserted on one of
our highways, it's just procedure to run a make on the
plates," he explained softly. He flashed another smile
in my direction.
"Oh," Raven moaned. She sat back and stared
out the window.
"You're not Gordon Tooey, are you?" he asked
me after a moment.
"No," I said, swallowing down a lump in my
throat.
"And I bet nobody back there is either, huh?"
he followed talking to them through the rearview
mirror.
"Hardly," Crystal replied.
I saw the sheriff's station directly ahead. He
looked at me.
"We're going to stop by here," he said, "because
there are some people who have a few questions for
you girls. I bet you know what some of those
questions are, huh?"
"Yes sir," I said, lowering my eyes.
He laughed.
"Well, no matter what, girls, I stand by what I
said back there. It sure is nice to see young people do
a good deed. Of course, it makes this whole thing as
confusing as hell, but it sure is nice," he said and
pulled into the station's parking lot.
"Are we under arrest?" I asked after he turned
off his engine.
"We usually investigate, ask questions, gather
evidence and then arrest people," he said. "All I have
right now are four very suspicious looking people.
Come on," he said, opening his door, "let's see if we
can straighten all this out to where it makes some
sense."
He opened the door for Crystal, Butterfly and
Raven and the four of us walked with him toward the
front of the building.
"It's all right," Crystal said. "It's just like we
discussed."
Raven looked at her as if she had gone mad and
then gazed at me as if I had betrayed her, betrayed
them all.
They put us in a large conference room. There
was a glass window across from us and I had seen
enough television shows and movies to imagine that it was a one-way window with people observing us on the other side. A police receptionist came in first and offered us soft drinks. Crystal asked for some tea and
the rest of us had Sprites.
"What's going to happen to us now?" Butterfly
asked in a tiny voice as she sipped her drink. "We could go to jail," Raven replied, fear raw
in her voice.
Butterfly looked at Crystal and then at me.
"Let's not rush to any conclusions," Crystal said.
"Let's see what they ask and say first."
Just then the door opened and a woman in her
late forties entered, wearing a deputy policeman's
uniform.
She didn't wear a pistol, but she had a pair of
handcuffs dangling off her belt. She carried a
clipboard and walked with a stiff, military posture. "My name's Lieutenant Mathews," she said,
pointing to a name tag that read MATHEWS above
her left breast. She sat across from us and just studied
our faces for a moment before looking down at her
sheets. "Who's Brooke Okun?"
"I am," I said. She stared at me as if she wanted
to memorize my face.
"Janet Taylor?"
"Me," Butterfly said. Again, a moment's hard
look before she turned to read.
"Raven Flores?"
"Pleased to meet you," Raven said.
Lieutenant Mathews' eyes sharpened before she
turned to Crystal.
"And that leaves Crystal Perry?"
"Yes," Crystal said.
"All right, girls," Lieutenant Mathews said, putting aside her clipboard. "I heard how you helped a
family just now and what a wonderful thing you did,
so I know I'm not dealing with delinquents, but unless
I hear some reason why not, you're all suspects for
grand auto theft. What's more, you've taken the car
across state lines, and," she added gazing down at her
sheet, "no one here has a legal driver's license. Are
any of these facts untrue?"
"We didn't steal the car. We just borrowed it for
a little while," Raven began.
Lieutenant Mathews did not smile, she just
flipped some pages and folded them over.
"You are all legal wards of the state. I have sent
for a representative of the Child Protection Services
here and he's on his way."
"Well, why don't we wait until he arrives before we discuss our situation any further," Crystal concluded. She took her glasses off and wiped them clean. Her coolness did not win us any pity, nor did Raven's smug smile. Even Butterfly's face of abject terror won us no sympathy. I looked down, my heart
thumping.
"The best thing you girls can do for yourselves
now is tell the truth," Lieutenant Mathews said.
"No one wants to make this any bigger than it
already is. You did all the driving?" she asked me. "We all drove," Raven said protectively. "Even
Butterfly. We got her a pillow so she could see over
the steering wheel."
"In a little while, Miss Flores, you won't find
this to be so funny. I assure you," she added. There was a knock on the door. She stared at us
rather than answer it and there was another knock.
Finally, she stood up and opened it. A tall, thin man
who looked more terrified than we did gazed in at us.
He wore a dark brown suit and tie and had a narrow
face with a nose that looked like it could be a practice
ski slope. His mouth curled down at the corners to
frame his lower jaw, which was rounded, the bones
sharp against his light complexion. He had light blue
round eyes and shifted them from one of our faces to
the other, the lines in his mouth deepening even more. "Okay, Mr. Glashalter. They're yours for the
moment. They need some real guidance, I'd say,"
Lieutenant Mathews told him. She looked back at us
and then left.
He entered, carrying his briefcase and taking
Lieutenant Mathews' seat.
"Hello girls. I'm Clarence Glashalter and I'm
with the Child Protection Services here. I have some
information about you, but I'll need you to answer a
few questions. I do know you stole the automobile of
the man who was your foster father, correct?" He
didn't wait for us to reply. "And you've been driving
west for days. Where were you headed?"
"We were trying to get to California," I said. He nodded as if that were a legitimate purpose.
"Yes, and?"
"And get away from foster homes forever," Raven added.
"By stealing your foster parent's car, though?" "He's not exactly Mr. Clean," Raven continued. "Well," Clarence Glashalter said, gazing at his
paper work, "apparently, he's Mr. Forgiveness. I was
just told that he is willing to drop all charges against
you if you will all return to the home. He's flying out
here to pick up his automobile."
"Return? I'd rather go to jail," Raven said. Glashalter looked at all of us and saw a similar
desire. He shook his head.
"He claims his wife is ve
ry fond of you all and
has been very upset, sick actually over this. They
don't sound like monsters to me. Besides, I don't think
you want to go to jail for stealing a car," he added
with a smile.
"Yes, we do. We'll survive," Raven insisted.
"As long as we're together, we'll survive. We're
sisters."
"I understand that," Clarence Glashalter said.
He shook his head. "But the four of you won't be
going to the same place."
Butterfly moaned and looked at me and then
Raven with desperation.
"This isn't funny It's not some game we're
playing, girls."
"What do we have to do?" Crystal asked
quickly.
"You have to apologize and go back and
behave yourselves. I might get you on probation then.
It bodes well for you that you helped that family just
now," he added.
"We don't want to go back. We can't go back,"
Raven cried. "He's a monster."
"If you have any legitimate complaints about
your foster parents, you should be telling your
counselors back in New York, not stealing cars and
driving across the country," Mr. Glashalter said. "Follow procedures. I'm sure you're familiar
with them. You've all been in the system awhile and .
. ."
"Oh, the system," Raven groaned. "I'll just run
away again," Raven threatened.
Mr. Glashalter's lips lifted and stretched. His
eyes narrowed as he stared at her.
"Then you'll just get into deeper trouble and
you won't have an opportunity like this, believe me,"
he said. "I assure you, if you are not cooperative . ." "We'll cooperate," Crystal promised quickly.
"Thank you for helping us."
Mr. Glashalter returned to his plastic smile and
directed himself at Crystal.
"Very wise decision, my dear. That's smart.
That way I can do what I can to help you," he told her.
"What do we do now?" Crystal asked.
"For now, I want you all to sit tight. I'll explain
things to the sheriff and speak with the assistant district attorney. It will take a while, but I think we can manage it all as long as you remain cooperative,"
he added with no veiled threat in his voice. He rose. "I'll be back shortly," he said and left us. As
soon as he did, Raven spun on Crystal. "Why don't
you tell him what we found in the car? Why don't you
tell him why we don't want to go back with Gordon
Tooey?" she asked.
"Why would they believe us, Raven? And then
what . . . Gordon changes his mind, presses charges
and they split us up? Do you want to see that happen?
Do you?"
"Of course not," Raven said, "but . . ." "Then no buts. Just be patient, be prudent and
wait for another opportunity," Crystal said softly. "But you know what he's going to want and
when he finds out what we did . . ."
"What's he going to do, turn us in for throwing
away his cocaine?"
"I hate to think what he's going to do," Raven
said. She looked to me for help.
"For the moment, Raven," I said, "we have no
other choice."
"It's easy to say that now," Raven cried, "but in
a while Gordon Tooey will be coming through that
door." No one spoke.
The thunder of our own hearts filled our ears. It
was enough.
14 The Evil Men Do
Every time the door opened, our breath caught in anticipation of facing Gordon. After Mr. Glashalter left, the first person to come in, however, was the deputy who had brought us from the hospital. He carried bags of burgers and fries with some sodas under his arm. The delicious aromas made my stomach churn.
"I thought you girls might be a little hungry. Looks like you'll be here awhile," he said, putting the bags on the table. He stood back. "Go on, eat them while they're hot. Compliments of the county," he added with a big grin.
I looked at Crystal. She nodded and we passed the burgers and fries to each other. The deputy watched us a moment and I could see the wheels turning in Raven's head. I squirmed in my seat and glanced at Crystal, who looked just as anxious about her.
"Suppose you found drugs in someone's car but you didn't tell the police, is that a crime?" Raven blurted.
I think the mouthful of burger bun I swallowed turned to stone in my throat. "It's always a crime to withhold evidence or not report a crime you know is in progress," he replied. "Why?"
"I just wondered," she said.
"Are there drugs in that station wagon?" he followed. He would have had to be dumber than a rock not to have asked her, I thought.
"No," Raven said.
"Were there?" He waited. "If there were, there might still be some residue."
"And if there isn't?" Crystal asked. "You can't prove there were any, right?"
"Absent of physical evidence or an eyewitness, no," he said.
Crystal grated at Raven.
"I'm talking about another car," she said. "A boyfriend of mine back home."
"Oh. Well, you better drop him like a hot potato," the deputy advised. "If he gets picked up with that stuff and you're with him, it won't go well for you." He looked at Butterfly. "I bet you'd like an ice cream cone. What's your favorite flavor?"
"I like strawberry," she said.
"Anybody else? Better get me while the getting is good," he said.
"I'll have a vanilla cone," Raven said. Crystal and I declined and he left to get them.
"That was really stupid, Raven. Can you imagine what would have happened if he ripped apart the wagon with Gordon watching and they found nothing?" Crystal asked. "Gordon would see his drugs were gone and he would have been furious. I'm sure he would press charges against us then."
"I just wondered if there was another way out of here," Raven moaned. "You know I don't want to do anything to break us up."
"I'm scared," Butterfly whimpered, her lips quivering ominously. "I was never arrested before."
"You're not being arrested now," Crystal assured her. She fixed her eyes on Raven. "No one's going to do anything or say anything more."
Everyone was quiet a moment.
"Well, I'm scared too," Raven admitted. "I'm sorry, but I am."
"We're going to be all right," I said. "Don't worry about it."
"Right. I won't worry. You'll call super mechanic and he'll come flying in his, what did you say he called it? His Betty Lou?"
I glared back at her, tears of rage burning my eyes. She looked down and folded her arms.
The sheriff's deputy returned with the cones and told us they had just gotten word that Gordon would be here in an hour. Then he left us again.
"How could he get here so fast?" Raven wondered. She looked at Crystal.
"He flew from someplace closer," she said and then added, "the credit card."
Raven snapped her head around at me.
"That's right. He's been tracking us because of it."
"It was a good idea in the beginning, Raven," I said defensively. "We all thought so. And what difference does it make now whether he's here in an hour or four? He's coming. There's nothing we can do about that."
"Brooke's right, Raven. Please," Crystal pleaded, "let's stop this bickering."
"I don't want to go back with him," Butterfly said, looking from Raven to me. "I don't, Crystal. I don't." She started to shake her head so vigorously, I thought she would snap her neck.
"Oh no," Raven said. "If she goes into one of those catatonic states now . . ."
"Let's join," Crystal cried quickly. She was like someone throwin
g a pail of water on a smoldering fire.
We all rose and circled Butterfly. Her eyes were already beginning to roll back. We put our arms around each other and lowered our heads to hers.
"We're sisters," Crystal said. "We'll be all right. We'll always be all right as long as we are together. We're strong."
"We're sisters," Raven and I chanted along. "We'll be all right."
Butterfly-Clutched our hands and the four of us held on to each other as if we thought the floor was soon going to fall out from under us as we continued our chant.
"What are you girls doing now?" Mr. Glashalter asked. We hadn't heard him enter. We stopped and parted. "What is this, some form of witchcraft?"
We all returned to our seats. Butterfly looked much better. Color had returned to her face and she wasn't breathing as hard.
"It's nothing," Crystal said. "We're just comforting each other. That's our way."
He stared at us for a moment and then took a seat across from Raven.
"Okay, I've worked out all the details. The authorities are in agreement. You will be signed over to your foster father, who will once again assume responsibility for you. The matter of driving without a license, bringing a stolen vehicle into the state will all be put aside here, but the details will be given to your agency back in New York. You're all very lucky to get off this easily," he added.
"Yeah, I feel like we won the lottery," Raven muttered just loud enough for everyone to hear.
"You better start appreciating favors when people do them for you, young lady," he snapped. "Nothing's coming to you in this world just because you're here," he added, his mouth twisting as if his face were made of putty.
Raven's shoulders hoisted as she leaned toward him.
"Raven!" Crystal warned. She could see Raven was about to explode and who knew what would come out of her mouth this time. Instead, she looked at Crystal, retreated, wrapped her arms around herself tightly and bit down on her lower lip.
Mr. Glashalter completed the paper work he was doing and then went out to wait for Gordon. A short while later, Lieutenant Mathews came for us.
"Your foster father has arrived," she
announced. "Let's go, girls."
Crystal took Butterfly's hand quickly and we all rose and followed Lieutenant Mathews out. Gordon was leaning against the dispatcher's desk, a wide grin on his face. He wore a light brown leather jacket and dungarees. His hair was down over his forehead and he looked tired, unshaven, with shadows under his eyes. I imagined him driving night and day in hot pursuit.
"There they are, my girls," he cried. "Louise is so worried about you. I should be very mad, girls. I should be mad," he said. Then he turned to the dispatcher and shook his head. "I would be, but I keep thinking of all the pranks I pulled when I was their age."
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