Salt and Pepper Short Stories and Poems

by Susan Sowerby

Down at the Station!

  On one particular night several months later, Joel brought a bag of spray cans out of hiding. He planned to honour his new friend with a portrait on the opposite warehouse wall. He’d decided to accompany with the caption. ‘The Jenuine Junkyard Dog.’ Of course, it had its implications, but the fake Junkyard Dogs didn’t know he was the Graffiti King, no one had any idea, except maybe, that damned cop.

  On this fateful night, Joel concentrated so completely on his portrait of JD, he didn’t hear the police vehicle turn into the street. The car pulled over by the junkyard fence and they peered in there. He swiftly turned out his flash light, crouching down low among the bins, but it was too late.

  ‘Hey! You!’ a voice called. He sprang like a rabbit from his hiding place and though he could run like a hare, there were four uniforms closing in on him. He ducked under the arm of one, up over the bins, put a foot on the shoulder of another and tried to jump over the next who caught him by the shoe and brought him down. Seeing his friend so roughly handled, JD broke into hysterics. He would have eaten the lot of them.

  ‘Caught the brat at last,’ one of them crowed as he picked him up and dumped him squirming in the back seat of their car. JD’s howl faded in the distance like a lonely police siren. He slumped onto the ground. They’d taken away his only friend!

  Joel hunched miserably in the back seat. He was in real trouble now.

  In the interrogation room, they said, ‘Why all the graffiti, why the picture of the dog?’

  Joel mumbled, glum in his honesty. What did he have to lose? ‘It’s the only thing I’m good at and that dog’s my friend.’ Just then the tall cop walked in. He raised his eyebrows and crossed his arms. Joel felt embarrassed, as though he’d let him down. The burly cop turned to his lanky colleague and said. ‘Thanks for the tip off, Jason.’

  So he did know! Joel rankled with dark resentment. Can’t trust him.

  The stocky cop continued. ‘One of yours I reckon. We can only caution him, he’s only fourteen. Sorry mate, I know you’ve got enough of them on your plate already - all over the place like spaghetti, this kid's graffiti.’

  ‘It’s OK. One more won’t make any difference.’ Joel bristled at 'Jason's' comment. Nice to know I don’t make a difference, he thought bitterly. In his own way, with his graffitti, he’d been trying to make a difference for years.

  Suddenly, his betrayer offered his hand in a friendly fashion. ‘Jason Lander,’ he nodded. The gesture made Joel feel equal, not like a criminal anymore.

  He slowly offered his own hand. ‘What will happen to me now?’ he muttered.

  ‘Nuthin,’ said Jason Lander, ‘If you stop writing all over everything.’

  Joel smothered a gasp. Of course his game was over! He’d lived for the game! A sudden wave of tragedy flooded his body. He felt like half his world had just gone down the drain. Amazingly, Jason noticed.

  ‘Remember what I told you at the hot dog shop? One door closes and another opens. I might be able to land you a job or two doing exactly what you’re good at. Cheer up, the world hasn’t come to an end.’ He picked up the bag of spray cans and handed it to him. Joel could hardly believe the man was actually returning the tools of the crime. Jason gazed down at him with an open, accepting kind of look that made him want to cry.

  He looked away sharply and muttered ‘Can I go now?’

  ‘Yep, I know where you live. Later on, I’ll drop off some boards for you. We have a few photos here of your previous efforts. I’m not supposed to but I’ll see if I can sneak some copies so you can make a resume.’

  ‘Thanks,’ replied Joel politely. He hadn’t missed the statement that he was just one of many, so he wouldn’t hold his breath. People often promised him things they didn’t do, especially his parents.

  At the door, Jason Lander pointed to a car, ‘Get in,’ he said, ‘I can’t let you loose on the streets in the dark.’

  Why not? thought Joel. The dark is when I come out. What will I do when I can't graff.? Make a nuisance of myself like the Junk-yard Dogs? What he really wanted was to go and see JD to show him he was OK. Amazingly, Lander stopped by the portrait and got out his flash camera. Joel bounded over to JD. Though overjoyed to see him, agitation gripped the dog. When his friend walked away, his bark became even crazier. He sounded totally insane.

  ‘Wow, He hates to let you go doesn’t he?’ Jason Lander observed with a sigh.

  Joel glanced at him. He’d caught something quite sad in his tone. ‘You got kids?’ he ventured.

  ‘No.'

  'A wife?'

  No. She left me a couple of months ago because my job with borderline kids proved too demanding. I thought she understood, but then again, there are limits.’ Joel almost felt guilty. ‘Get in, kid, I’ll take you home.’

  ‘But something’s wrong with JD. I need to find out.’ He blurted.

  ‘Yeah, He’s probably saying ‘get me out of here.’ ‘JD,’ is that what you call him?’

  ‘Yeah - Junk-yard Dog.’

  ‘Why’d you give him the same name as your enemies?’

  ‘Because he’s the real junk-yard dog, they’re just fakes.’

  ‘Of course,’ Jason laughed and nodded towards the portrait. ‘Look kid, I can’t leave you here, it ain’t protocol and I’ve got to get back to the station. Get in. Sorry. I can see you’d rather talk to that dog than to your parents’

  ‘They’ll be in the pub.’

  ‘So you usually fend for yourself?’

  ‘Yep.’

  Do you have breakfast before school?’

  Joel didn’t like these questions, but he mumbled the truth

  ‘Not often.’

  Rummaging over the back seat with his long arm, Jason came up with a loaf of fresh bread. He was thinking, these poor kids are between a rock and a hard place - the law on one side and useless parents on the other. Jason handed it to him. Joel felt himself blush. Accepting this felt worse than stealing. It felt like begging. At least he felt there was some skill and ingenuity in nicking things.

  ‘Thank you,’ he muttered politely as he fled from the car. Would this Jason Lander guy prove to be friend or foe?

  As soon as Lander’s car disappeared from view, he jogged the few kilometres back to JD who exploded into a volley of barks, running into the centre of the yard and back again. Joel had never thought of letting JD out, though Jason had unwittingly sown the seed. It wouldn’t be wise, he decided. JD might eat someone and get shot.

  He could see the dog wanted to show him something, wanted him to follow. He went totally berserk. Joel looked up at the barbed wire on the top of the fence. It didn’t look very inviting. Then he spotted an old car mat on JD’s side. He’d never asked JD to do anything before and presumed he hadn’t been trained, but the dog actually did understand when he called ‘fetch!’ though he didn’t know what to fetch. He tried a bit of an old fender, a smashed car light and a torn singlet, before finally dragging the car mat over. Joel managed to squeeze his hand underneath the wire and pull it through. With characteristic agility, he scaled the fence, flapped the mat over the sharp bit and flipped onto the inside. JD barked, beside himself with joy at having his friend on the same side for once. After smothering him with licks, he loped off towards the old cars. Joel followed, knowing he was trespassing, but he felt driven to find out what the trouble was. The dog rushed to a small red car and scratched at the boot. It proved to be firmly locked. Maybe someone had left food in there thought Joel. JD was a sucker for food. He looked around for something to force it with and found a wheel brace and a sliver of metal to poke in the lock. As he worked on it, he was aware that now he was breaking and entering, something else to add to his record. Then, he noticed something that stopped his heart dead. Blood spattered all over the back bumper! He felt the impulse to drop the wheel brace and run, but the thought that who or what was inside the boot might still be alive, kept him there, nerves shaking. There wouldn’t be much air left. He knew the cr
usher came on Thursdays - tomorrow. Was this actually a murder?

  ‘Come on, ‘he growled through clenched teeth as he wrenched at the lock. Sweat stood out on his forehead and beaded his downy upper lip. Suddenly, the boot popped to reveal the worst – a middle aged man in a suit with a bald and bloodied head. Joel poked him warily in the ribs with the wheel brace. It was against his instinct to touch a dead guy. When the man groaned, he jumped back and stood stock still, shocked and gob-smacked for a moment. Then, realising the victim might be near death, he grabbed his wits and sprinted to the office building, forcing the door with his pick and brace. An alarm rang out. The night guard and police would soon be here. Scrabbling for the light, he flipped the switch. Finding the phone, he quickly dialled emergency and gave the address for an ambulance. Then pacing nervously, he waited. Should he run away? What if the murderer came back? ‘Breaking and entering’ kept running through his mind. He didn’t know which way to go. It seemed all too easy to get into further trouble once he’d started, even with the best intentions.

  Before long, a night watch arrived. When he appeared at the door with his flash light, JD flew at him, hackles up and tore the sleeve off his uniform. Joel dragged him off with great effort, barely able to hold him.

  After regaining his composure the Watch asked sharply. ‘What are you doing here?’

  ‘There’s a guy almost dead in the boot of a car in there,’ Joel pointed. The guard was obviously not going to walk past him. Who could blame him? As far as he was concerned, apart from JD, a gang of thugs could be waiting on the other side of the door.

  Astride JD, Joel puffed as he held him down, ‘I’ve rang the ambulance, they should be on their way.’

  At that, the guard relaxed. He’d already called the police on his mobile, so it didn’t take them long to appear. Joel hoped Jason Lander would be with them, but he wasn’t. One of them pointed his gun at the hysterical JD.

  ‘Its OK,’ yelled Joel, ‘I’ll tie him up.’ He reluctantly dragged him over and clipped him onto the short chain in his filthy corner. The cop took the boy by the arm and snapped a hand cuff over his wrist.

  ‘Why are you here, kid?

  ‘There’s a man in trouble out there in the boot of a car.’ How many times did he have to say it?

  When the ambulance arrived, Joel did not see what happened because the cops whisked him off to the police station again. Where was Jason Lander? They locked him in the interview room. Because of several emergencies going down, he spent the whole night in there with nowhere to sleep. The only comfort he felt was that it wasn’t a cell. In the morning the door unlocked and two unknown cops burst in.

  ‘Opps, sorry, forgot we had you here!’ One turned to the another. ‘For goodness sake, contact his parents and let them know he’s here. They’ll be worried sick.’

  ‘Can I have a glass of water?’ Joel croaked. ‘And can I speak to Jason Lander?’

  ‘Jason? Is he your mentor?’

  ‘Yes.’

  ‘Should be in soon. We should wait for him,’ suggested the other guy. ‘They talk better with him around.’

  JD never left Joel’s mind. If they arrested the owner what would happen to him? He was too mean for any of them to handle. They might just shoot him. What was worse, the cops seemed deaf to all his questions. At least Jason might listen. He waited, nervously rocking to and fro, clutching his jug of water. JD would need his help urgently. No one else would help him.

  Jason came in whistling. His carefree attitude annoyed Joel who sat grumpily hunched over on his chair, wound up tight like a spring. Others followed the youth worker and the interrogation began.

  ‘What’s going on?’ asked Jason, straddling a chair backwards. ‘Why did you break in last night after I took you home?’

  ‘You know. I went back to see JD. He went ape so I climbed the fence to see what he wanted. He led me to that car. It was locked so I opened it with a wheel brace. There was a man in there. I broke into the office and rang the ambulance. The night watch came, then the police, then the ambulance. That’s all. What will happen to JD?’

  ‘Dunno,’ said Jason, scratching his chin.

  ‘They’ll kill him won’t they?’ The boy held a sob down with great effort.

  ‘Stay on track,’ the other policeman demanded. ‘This looks like a case of attempted murder. It’s serious. You could be telling us anything. Once again, why were you in there?’

  ‘I told you,’ snapped Joel, weary with sleepless worry, ‘The dog showed me.’

  ‘I don’t think -’

  ‘Its OK,’ said Jason, ‘That’s all for now.’ The other cop shrugged, picked up his file and walked out with the others.

  ‘They locked me in here all night, I lay down on the floor but I couldn’t sleep,’ said Joel, rubbing the sore spots.

  ‘That was a mistake. I’m not supposed to tell you this, but they’ve arrested the junk-yard owner. They know you didn’t do anything, but they think you might know something.

  ‘I don’t. What about JD!’

  ‘OK, I’ll go and see what the score is for JD. The trouble is, only you can control him. The problem is that we can’t let you go before we’ve thoroughly questioned you. You were at the scene of the crime you know.’

  Joel groaned. Would a busy guy like Jason really bother about a scruffy down trodden dog like JD? He was angry.

  ‘I’ve told you everything I know,’ he yelled, short tempered from lack of sleep.

  ‘Calm down, I feel you have, but they don’t know that. Trust me. I’ll do all I can for JD, apart from getting my head gnawed off.’

  When the detectives came back to question him yet again, Jason was not with them. Joel’s heart sank. He kept repeating the little he knew. It was a harrowing experience, especially being held, with JD’s welfare constantly on his mind. When they finally brought him some lunch, he was so wound up, he couldn’t eat it.

  The sun was setting by the time Jason finally came back. They charged Joel with breaking and entering and then sent him home because he was under age. Jason said it was just a formality, that the charges would be dropped.

  ‘Where is JD?’ Joel demanded.

  ‘Where he always was,’ replied Jason calmly. ‘Because of the investigations, I can’t let him off that little chain. More to the point, I’m too damned scared. I have fed him, if that’s any comfort. C.I.D. want him removed, but I managed to say that in the interest of the youth group, he is to be protected. Messages can get confused, so I also put a big sign in front of him. Still wants my skin though.’

  ‘J.D. or C.I.D.?’

  ‘Both! JD makes a lot of noise. They long to shut him up, but hello, they aren’t going to let you into the scene to have a go are they?’

  Joel, struggled, feeling resentment rising. ‘It’s because of him the man’s alive,’ he muttered, grateful that JD was OK - for the moment at least.

  Jason answered, ‘Don’t know if the man is saved yet, but he’s hanging in there. He has a mighty skull. I’m told the blow he took was guaranteed to kill. Anyone with a normal conk would be dead.

  ‘Who is he?’

  ‘I’m not at liberty to say.’

  ‘How long will it be before I can see JD?’

  ‘Don’t know. He’s a part of the evidence.

  ‘As if he can tell them anything.’ sneered Joel.

  ‘He told you something fairly important, didn’t he?’

  ‘He’s a hero, he shouldn’t be a candidate for death row.’

  ‘Yes, and you shouldn’t be a kid charged with breaking and entering, either. The world of law is a very strange one, master Joel.’

  ‘You’re telling me nothing,’ he returned sulkily.