Brandon kept his head down as he left the room. Once the door slammed behind him, Tyler exhaled a shaky stream of air. “I don’t know what’s going on with him.”
“He’s very angry,” Rebecca observed. “Any idea why?”
Tyler shook his head. “No idea. The kid has everything. What else does he want?”
Rebecca looked tired, too. Her chin-length, mousy-brown hair seemed a little messy this morning, and there were puffy pouches under each of her steel-blue eyes. She was about his age. Did she have teenagers keeping her awake at night? “I’m referring him to the school psychologist—”
“Oh, good grief. My ex-wife has been sending him to every psychologist on the east coast for the past six months. As we see, it’s not doing him any good.”
“OK,” Rebecca said calmly. “Well, Mr. Jones, this is part of the process here. Brandon may need to be screened for special education services, and a psychological evaluation would be part of that—”
“Special ed services?” Tyler balked. “Are you kidding me? This is ridiculous.”
“The greater concern right now,” Josh jumped in, “is the possibility of Brandon being involved in a gang. Now, we have no proof of anything, but Gianna mentioned Masters of Sin…and those guys are bad news.”
“We’ve had some trouble with them recently,” Oliver added. “We’ve had the county gang task force up here about that group.”
Tyler’s head was reeling. “Well, Brandon’s not involved with them. I mean, I’ve seen some stuff about them on the news, but I just can’t believe that any thirteen-year-old kid…”
“I’ve seen nine-year-olds involved—not as members, but they run favors for them. Sometimes they get caught up in their older brothers’ stuff, you know…it happens,” Oliver said. “These guys prey on kids who are vulnerable. Socio-economic level is often a factor, but in this area, it doesn’t have to be. A kid who’s looking to belong—looking for somewhere to fit in—they’re all over that.”
Josh nodded. “And these guys are not small time. They don’t play around. Super-violent, drug traffickers, sex traffickers.”
Tyler couldn’t remember the last time he’d cried, but he had that weird, unstable feeling that accompanied an onslaught of emotion. He needed to get out of there. “Why would Brandon have been fighting with a guy from a gang?”
“That’s what we need to find out,” said Josh. “It seems like Brandon is protecting someone, or he’s just not ready to talk.”
“Could be a lot of reasons,” Oliver added. “Could have something to do with a girl or money or something.”
“You want to look for gang symbols,” said Josh. “Tattoos are a big identifying factor. These guys use a dragon-type symbol.”
Tyler had had enough. He stood. “I’ve got to go.”
“We’ll be in touch with you as soon as we know something more,” Rebecca said.
Tyler left the school and drove straight home. Originally, he’d planned to go back to work, but now he needed to lie down. Micah and Celia had been staying with his parents since Lana had left, and he was more thankful than ever for that. There were some days he wished he’d never had kids. And this was one of them.
12
Kaki
Monday, December 5
“It’s really no big deal,” Sydney said. “Seriously. It’s really easy once you’ve done it a few times.”
Kaki stood with Sydney in the hall in front of their math classroom, staring over Sydney’s shoulder as she flipped through pictures on her phone of the party she’d attended the night before. “But I don’t want to do it ever again, Sydney. Doing it one time made me want to throw up.”
Sydney tossed her a glance meant to warn her. “You wanna be with Damien, don’t you?”
Kaki wasn’t sure what she wanted anymore. She was riding a tidal wave, looking down at the world below, and if she tried to get back to them by stepping off the crest, she’d drown. “I guess.”
“Well, you’d better make up your mind. There are a ton of other girls who’d love to take your place and be with Damien. You’re really lucky, you know.”
Lucky was hardly how she would describe herself. Stupid? Yes. Weak? Yep. Trapped? Absolutely.
It was rare for Sydney and Kaki to be in school on the same day. Sydney attended once or twice every two weeks—just so they didn’t take her name out of the system or send out a truancy officer. Sydney only came to school to recruit other girls. She did it in the halls, standing by some mousy-looking girl’s locker, talking up how they could make a lot of money and be part of something really important. Sydney had tricked her, too, and she’d fallen for the whole lie. And now she was in neck deep.
“Come on,” she said, motioning for Kaki to follow her down the hall where people looked at her as if they knew what she was—what she’d become.
Sydney palmed something into her hand. “Take two of those right before you get with a guy. Then you won’t even care what’s going on.”
“What is it?”
“It’s heavy-duty anxiety medication. It’s the best stuff ever. If you can snort it, it works even better. I get it from a guy whose mom is like a doctor or something. She’s got this kind of stuff all over the place.”
“How do you know the guy?”
“You know. He’s one of the guys Damien set me up with. I give him what he wants, and he gives me good drugs. And a lot of money.”
The way Sydney talked, Kaki almost believed she didn’t mind what she was doing. Being high was the only way she could get through another experience like the first one.
~*~
The temperature gauge outside read thirty degrees, but with the wind chill factored in it felt more like fifteen. Kaki sat on the curb, shivering with dread, waiting for the sight of Damien’s blue car to turn the corner. Instead, a silver car pulled into the cul-de-sac and circled around as though it was going to head back out onto the main road. Suddenly, it stopped. A dark-headed man wearing a black coat got out of the driver’s seat and opened the back door of the car.
“Come on,” he said in a rough voice. “Come on. Get out.” At his gruff command, a dog jumped out of the backseat. It sniffed the ground at first, but as the man climbed back in his car and drove off, the dog turned, appearing confused, momentarily trying to follow the car. As the car pulled up to the stop sign and turned left onto the main road, the dog turned its sad, brown eyes toward her.
“Come ‘ere.” She used a high-pitched voice and patted the cold ground next to her.
The dog, a mutt—maybe a little dachshund, a dash of beagle, a smattering of terrier—appeared pregnant. Her belly hung heavy with puppies, the teats swollen and prominent. She approached hesitantly, stopping at the curb just before she reached Kaki.
She moved toward the dog slowly, her hand outstretched, her voice soft and high. “C’mere girl. It’s OK.” Had that guy really just abandoned the dog? And in freezing temperatures. Kaki wasn’t sure what to do. She finally reached the mutt and rubbed her fingers across the top of her head, staring into soulful eyes. The dog looked up at her even as its whole body shook violently.
“Hey there!” Molly Wolf stood at her mailbox pulling out the day’s deliveries. “Who you got with you?”
“I was just sitting here, and somebody just dropped her off. Right there.” She pointed at the spot where the car had been moments before. “They just drove up, opened their door, and let her out. And then they left.”
“What on earth?” Molly squatted to pet the shaking dog, whose tail was tucked between her legs.
Kaki shivered so hard her teeth chattered together. Her bulky leather jacket did not help her bare legs fend off the cold.
“How could someone do that? I mean, look at her. She’s pregnant and it’s freezing out here.” Molly’s face was wreathed with lines of concern.
“Yeah, people are mean.” Damien would be there any second. Kaki didn’t want to leave the dog outside, but she couldn’t very well dump it inside her
dad’s house and leave. Hey, Dad. Here’s our new dog. He’d never go for that.
“We had a dog when Josh and I first got married,” Molly said, a puff of smoke-like, condensation circling her face. “It was Josh’s dog, an old Labrador named Winnie. She died three years into our marriage. It practically destroyed Josh, and after that he said he didn’t want any more dogs. It’s so hard to lose them.” Molly scooped the dog into her arms. “Even pregnant with puppies you probably don’t weigh twenty pounds.”
“I don’t know what to do. I’m waiting for someone, and I can’t dump her off in the house with nobody home.”
Molly looked down at the dog. “Hm. I guess if nothing else we could always take her to the animal shelter. It would be cruel to leave her out in the cold.”
“Will you take her?” Kaki was hopeful.
Molly shrugged as the dog licked under her chin. “I don’t know. I’ll take her inside. This isn’t weather for human or animal. Which makes me wonder what on earth you’re doing out here. You’re not dressed for this weather.”
Kaki shrugged. “I’m OK. That’s nice of you to take her in. I love dogs. I’d take her, but…I’m waiting for my boyfriend to pick me up.”
Molly stroked the dog’s head. She was shivering too. “You can’t wait for him inside your house where it’s warm?”
No. She really couldn’t. She might miss the car when it pulled up. And she was privileged that Damien was even picking her up on this day. It was rare he did that anymore. He usually expected her to find her own way to parties and “dates.” Kaki hugged herself and looked off toward the road. Her teeth chattered again.
Molly moved toward her house. “Well, come in my house if you need to. But I’ve got to get back inside and see to this little girl. It’s freezing out here. You should call your boyfriend and tell him to hurry up.”
Relieved that Molly had taken pity on the dog, Kaki smiled. But the smile soon melted as a blue car swerved into the cul-de-sac, forcing Molly to take several steps back to avoid being run over. Kaki quickly stood and clambered into the car.
As soon as she was inside, Damien sped off, the car tires whooshing against the icy pavement. Kaki looked out the passenger window. Molly carried the dog inside her warm house. She only wished she were going with them.
~*~
Kaki never knew where they were going. If she asked, the response was always, “You’ll see.” Tonight, she didn’t even bother to ask. They were headed down I-66 East, so they were probably going to Damien’s club.
Damien pulled the car around to the back of the club and stopped by the door. “Once you’re inside, go like you’re heading to the dressing rooms. One of the other girls will meet you there and show you where you need to go.”
“You’re not coming in with me?” A sudden rush of panic coursed through her.
“No, I got some other business to take care of.”
Kaki thrust her hand into the pocket of the leather coat. Relief. The pills Sydney had given her were there. She’d even crushed them up before she left the house so she could snort them and not have the long wait for them to take effect.
Hand shaking, Kaki grabbed the latch and stepped into the freezing air. She stopped just in front of the door and turned to look at Damien. His black gaze warned her. Don’t try anything. Don’t even think about running. He was staying to make sure she went inside.
She placed her hand on the cold, sticky doorknob. Inhaling sharply, she turned it and went inside. Might as well get this over with. Inside, another girl was waiting for her. Kaki didn’t know her, and the girl didn’t introduce herself.
“You Kaki?” she asked, her pale face unchanging in its drone-like stare.
“Yes.”
“Come on. They’re waiting.”
Kaki followed her to a room at the backend of the club. Yeah, they were waiting. Four of them.
“You don’t go with any guy ever until Spider or Jak collects the money. Understand?”
Kaki nodded.
The girl pointed to one of the men—a nameless, faceless, dark entity that stood like a shadow in the corner. “There’s your first one. He’s all paid-up.”
They moved into a private room behind a door and down a dark, smelly hallway.
Kaki never saw one dollar of the money. She didn’t want any of it anyway.
13
Tyler
Friday, December 9
Tyler couldn’t wait for Lana to come home from California. Between dealing with Brandon’s situation, running the younger kids back and forth between his parents’ house, and trying to keep things running at work, he was exhausted. He was just thankful it was Friday, and Lana would be home on Sunday.
Their phone conversations had been a little strained. She didn’t call the first night, and when she finally called the next day she was hungover.
“I was calling the airlines to make sure your plane landed safely and you weren’t swept away in some sort of disappearing flight or something,” he said.
“No, I’m fine. I’m fine. I went to dinner with Erin to talk business, and I think I had too many Apple-tinis.”
“Oh. So you got drunk, and that’s why you didn’t call me?”
“I had a little too much to drink, yes.”
“OK.” Was she in California to party? To live out some fantasy or recapture her youth or something? “Well, it just would’ve been nice if you’d called and let me know that you were safe. You know, Lana…I’m dealing with a lot of stuff here. There’s stuff going on with Brandon, and the kids are asking all sorts of questions about where you are and why, and I don’t know what to say to them.” He endeavored to reel in the familiar, angry tone. “Lana, I want you to call me tonight. Without fail, OK?”
“OK.” Her tone was clipped, terse. She was just pacifying him.
And then, just the night before, she’d called to tell him that she’d gotten the job. Should he be happy? Maybe he should feel relieved. Maybe, like Lana, he could just walk away from all of this—jobs, house, responsibilities involving his delinquent, teenage son—get away from the trouble and the pain and soak up the sun in Cali. The whole idea seemed ridiculous.
He staggered into the corner coffee shop, herded into the line behind the other customers, and moved cattle-like through the ordering queue.
A tap on his left shoulder turned his head. “Hello, again.”
Abbie Jackson stood in the line.
“Hey, good morning. Happy Friday, Detective Jackson.” He tried to force energy into his voice.
“How’s it going?” She gave him that great smile.
“It’s…uh…it’s going. My wife is out of town on some business—so I’m taking care of kids and all that.” The words tumbled out of his mouth in nervous chatter. “You got kids?”
“No. Not married.”
She was really cute. If he were still single, he’d—Tyler had to force his mind away from Abbie’s single state. His mind was drifting into that place it always went when he needed some mental medication.
“Saw Josh yesterday,” she said. “I was up at the school for some gang-related stuff, and I got to catch up with him a little.”
Gang-related stuff. Did she know about Brandon’s parking lot incident from last week? “What do you know about the gang called…I think it’s Masters of Sin?” he asked.
“What do you want to know?”
“Well, my son got into trouble at the school last week…” he gave a nervous laugh. “Actually, it seems like every week now he’s getting in trouble. Anyway, when I was up there, Josh mentioned that Runnymede has some Masters of Sin gang activity going on.”
“Yes, there are Masters of Sin gang members at Runnymede. I was just there dealing with it this week.”
The line moved up. Tyler ordered his large, black coffee and handed the barista his debit card. He turned back to Abbie. “So what does that look like? I mean, what does their gang activity entail?”
“Well, they deal in drugs…and a lot o
f gang-controlled prostitution. That’s their game. It’s much more lucrative for them than drugs or robbery. And it’s much more difficult to prove. They’re really well networked with a lot of cash flow.”
“Where do they get the girls?”
“They’re pretty good at recruiting them—from the schools, the malls, the neighborhoods. They know which girls are vulnerable, which ones they can pull in. Then their MO is to brand them.”
“Brand them?”
“Yep. It’s a tattoo—usually the boyfriend’s name or initials, or sometimes it’s a dragon or a devil.”
“So it’s like they’re livestock or something.” It was appalling. “Where do they brand them? On the neck or arms or…?”
“In various places. Necks and arms are common, but I’ve seen girls with their pimp’s initials tattooed on their eyelids before. I mean, make no mistake, these are bad guys.”
An acidic taste burned at the back of Tyler’s mouth. Brandon would never be involved in that kind of stuff.
“When I talked to Josh yesterday, it sounded like things are heating up over there with the gangs, so we’ll be keeping a close eye on things.”
“That’s good to hear, because I have two kids going to school there. I’m starting to worry a little about their safety.” Tyler picked up his coffee and waited for Abbie to retrieve hers.
They walked out to the parking lot together.
“If you’re worried about your kids’ safety, the main thing is to talk to them. Make sure you know what they’re doing, who they’re hanging out with—that kind of stuff. Kids with really involved parents—you know what I’m talking about, right? Like parents who are all up in their kids’ business and stuff? Those kids are much less likely to get involved with gangs.”
Well then, he didn’t need to worry too much. Tyler climbed into his car and drove toward the Metro station. He was involved in his kids’ lives. He had always known who they hung out with. At least, he used to know…
~*~
Tyler upturned his CEF mug, dumping the dregs of the day’s coffee into the waste basket. Time to head home. He was just about to stuff his cell phone into his pocket when he glanced at the screen. Voicemail from…oh, no. Christina and her drama. He pressed the message replay button. “Tyler, you need to call me right now. I know you don’t like it when I call you at work, but it’s about Brandon, and it’s really, really important. As a matter of fact, I really think we need to talk in person about this. I’ll drive out there and meet you after work.”
Suburban Dangers Page 11
