by Beverly Long
“We’re more interested in the staff,” Sawyer clarified. “Did you know the other instructors?”
The man nodded. “Most of us had been teaching at the camp for years. Of course, every year there were a couple new folks. Most were real nice.”
“Most?” Robert asked.
The man appeared uncomfortable. “Well, I don’t like to talk bad about people. Never know when the good maker is going to call me up and I don’t want my last deed to be something like that.”
“Mr. Willow, this is important,” Robert said. He nodded toward the newspaper that the man had folded under this arm. “Have you been following the story of the suspected serial killer?”
He nodded. “Of course. Terrible thing.”
“We have reason to believe that all four of the victims were at last year’s citywide band camp. Three played instruments and one was there visiting his sister who played.”
He didn’t respond, but Robert could tell that the news startled him. Robert didn’t waste time. He reached into his shirt pocket and pulled out the list of instructor names. “Can you take a look at this list and identify the individuals who were new?”
Mr. Willow studied it. He pointed to a name. “This guy.”
Barry Taylor. Excellent. Robert rubbed his hands together. “Anybody else?”
Mr. Willow ran a long finger down the list, then he did it a second time. It took everything Robert had not to grab the list and run out the door.
Time wasn’t their friend.
It was already almost four.
“I think this was the other new guy.”
Douglass Sparrow.
“You’d have thought the two of them might forge a friendship but they were both loners. Just odd ducks.”
They were almost back to their car when Robert’s cell phone rang. He saw the number and his heart did some kind of funny spin in his chest.
“Hi, Carmen,” he said.
“Are you busy?” she asked.
He could hear the tension in her voice. “What’s wrong?” he asked.
“I just got a call from Raoul’s school. He’s not at band practice. Their winter concert is Thursday night and if a kid misses this week, they don’t get to play in the concert. He’s first chair and the band director really wants him at the concert. I think that’s why he made the extra effort to call my cell phone.”
“And you know that he went to school today?”
“We left at the same time. And remember, he sent me a text telling me he’d arrived.”
“Okay. Are you still at work?”
“No. I was in a cab on my way back to the office when the call came in. I tried a couple times to reach Raoul on his cell phone. When that didn’t work, I couldn’t go back to the office. Plus, I was less than ten minutes from my house. I was so sure that he’d be here.”
“Were there any signs that he’d returned to the apartment at some point during the day?”
“No.”
“Kids skip school stuff all the time,” Robert said. “It’s probably not a big deal.”
There was a pause on the other line.
“Carmen?” he prompted.
“I searched his room. I found a box of bullets in his bottom drawer.”
Speedy’s Used Cars. He was surer than ever that the kid had been lying. What the hell else had he been lying about? “He has a gun?”
“Not that I know about,” she said, her voice cracking. “It’s not in his room. It’s not in this apartment. I’ve looked everywhere.”
He could tell she was close to tears. “Okay, honey. Don’t worry. I’ll go find him,” Robert said.
“Just bring him home safe, Robert. That’s all I ask.”
Robert hung up, hoping like hell he wouldn’t have to disappoint her.
“What’s up?” Sawyer asked.
Robert explained the situation.
“Go,” said Sawyer. “I’ve got this. You should probably start looking near his school. On the way there, you can drop me off and I’ll grab my own car. I’ll go check out Barry Taylor. We’ll reconnect once you’ve found Raoul.”
“I’m going to find him, right?” Robert asked. He could show his friend the fear that he’d had to hide from Carmen.
“You will. You’re the best damn cop I know, Robert. If you can’t find him, nobody can.”
* * *
AFTER ROBERT DROPPED off Sawyer, he sped toward Mahoney High. School had been out for about twenty minutes. If Raoul had decided to duck out of band practice, then he could be several blocks away. Of course, if he’d gotten on a bus, then all bets were off. He could be anywhere.
Robert debated whether he should broadcast Raoul’s description. Certainly more eyes looking for the kid was better, but the whole thing about Speedy’s Used Cars stopped him from doing that. He didn’t want any of his fellow cops looking too closely at Raoul right now.
He drove up and down the streets that would have been the logical ones for Raoul to have taken if he’d decided to walk home, all too aware that there was less than an hour of good daylight left. Once it got darker, it would be so much harder to find him.
Damn kid.
It was another ten minutes before he heard something come across the car radio that sparked his interest. He turned up the volume. Report of kids fighting in an alley. Between Parker Street and Venture Avenue.
Less than two blocks away.
Robert flipped on his lights but no siren.
When he got to the entrance of the alley, his heart almost stopped.
Raoul was standing in the middle of the icy alley and he had a gun pointed at two other boys who had their hands up and their backs against the alley wall.
If Raoul pulled the trigger, it would be cold-blooded murder.
Silently, Robert got out of his car. He was far enough away that nobody was paying him any attention. The boys with their hands in the air were staring at the gun. Raoul was staring at them.
“Come on, man. We were just kidding around.” That was from the tallest boy. The shorter boy said nothing. It looked like he was about to fall down.
“Shut up,” Raoul said. “Just shut the hell up.”
Damn. He couldn’t let Raoul shoot these other kids. His hand inched toward his own gun.
Carmen would hate him. She would never forgive him if he shot her brother.
He edged around his car and took a few steps into the alley. He had his hands in the air, his gun still in his side holster.
“Hey, Raoul,” he said softly. “It’s Robert. Put your gun down.”
Raoul’s head swirled toward Robert. “No,” he yelled. “I’ll kill you, too, if I have to.”
“You’re not going to kill anybody, Raoul.”
“Stay away,” Raoul yelled. “Don’t come near me.”
Robert stopped. “Fine. Just calm down. We can work this out.”
“They made me roll around in the garbage like a dog.”
Robert could see the boy’s shoulders heaving and knew that he was close to breaking down. “They’re the animals, then. Not you. Now put your gun away. You don’t want to spend the rest of your life paying for this moment, Raoul. It’s not worth it.”
“They’ll get away,” Raoul cried. “And tomorrow it will be worse.”
“They’re not going anywhere. There are about six cops right behind me. The lady who lives upstairs saw everything. She’s the one who called it in. Come on, Raoul, you’re a good kid. Don’t screw up your life.”
Chapter Seventeen
The kid didn’t put down the gun.
Robert knew he had one last shot. “Don’t do this to Carmen, Raoul. Don’t let her lose another brother. She won’t be able to take it. She’s given up everything for you. Don
’t make her regret it.”
Raoul’s arms were shaking so badly that Robert was scared the gun was going to go off accidentally.
“I think they might have messed with Carmen’s car. They said stuff about her.”
Now that got his attention.
“What kind of stuff?” he asked.
“We were just kidding,” the taller one said. “We meant no disrespect, man.”
Based on that comment, Robert could pretty much figure out what they’d said. That pissed him off. But if they were responsible for Carmen’s car, Raoul was going to have to pull him off them.
“Carmen Jimenez’s brake lines were cut. I want to know what you know about that.” He watched their faces closely and he could tell that he’d surprised them.
“We sprayed the car with paint and JJ broke the window,” one of them said. “We didn’t do anything with any brake lines. I wouldn’t even know how to cut a brake line.”
“They might be lying,” Raoul yelled.
He didn’t think so. “If they’re responsible,” he said, “then they’ll be prosecuted. Trust me on this, Raoul. They won’t get away with it. It’s not your job to take the law into your own hands.”
It took another thirty seconds of painful silence before Raoul lowered his arms. Robert’s heart started to beat again when the boy dropped to his knees and laid the gun on the ground. He pointed his finger at the boys. “Stay right where you are,” he said. He got close enough to kick Raoul’s gun far out of reach. Then he reached out his arm and grabbed the boy and pulled him tight into his body.
“It’s going to be okay,” Robert said, his voice close to Raoul’s ear. “It’s all going to be okay.”
* * *
AN HOUR LATER, Raoul and Robert walked into the apartment. Carmen met them at the door. She wrapped her arms around her brother and held him.
Robert stepped back. He’d called her as soon as he could, but then it had taken another hour to get things straightened out. Beat cops had arrived within minutes of Raoul putting down his weapon. It still made Robert queasy to think how differently things might have turned out if another cop had arrived before he had.
Raoul might have been shot, might have been killed. Carmen might be mourning the loss of another brother.
“I’m sorry,” Raoul said, wiping his nose with his sleeve.
“I know, honey. Tell me what happened.” She led him over to the couch, where they sat, side by side. Robert took the chair and listened while Raoul told his sister about the bullying that he’d been enduring and how it had all culminated in the alley.
Robert had already heard the explanation once at the police station. Raoul’s account of what happened in the alley matched what the eyewitness had called in. The other boys had started it. Raoul had attempted to finish it, once and for all.
“You should have told me,” Carmen said, her voice soft.
“I couldn’t. I knew you’d want to help but it would only get worse.”
Carmen nodded. She was wise to the world of teenagers and probably realized that what he was saying was true.
“Then the stuff with your car happened and I knew they knew where we lived. They had to be stopped.”
“I understand,” she said. She turned to him. “Any reason to believe that they’re responsible for the damage to my car?”
“They admitted to the spray paint and breaking the window. Flatly denied messing with the brakes. I think they were telling the truth. Plus, they were both in school on Monday. Every teacher takes attendance and they didn’t miss any classes. I don’t think they had an opportunity.”
“So they are just a bunch of cowardly bullies,” she said.
“Yeah. They won’t bother him again,” Robert said before she could ask. “I spoke with them and their parents. They’re already lawyering up to make a plea bargain on the vandalism charge. I guess they’re worried about football scholarships. Anyway, I made it very clear that if one hair on Raoul’s head is harmed, that the police are going to be looking in their direction. I think both the kids and their parents got it.”
She smiled at him. “Thank you,” she whispered. Then she turned back to Raoul.
“Where did you ever get a gun?” Carmen asked.
Robert sat forward in his chair. This was the only part of Raoul’s story that hadn’t made sense.
“Some guy gave it to me,” he said.
“Some guy?” Carmen questioned.
Raoul nodded.
“Some stranger just gave you a gun and you took it?” Carmen asked, her voice heavy with suspicion.
This time Raoul shrugged. “I gave him twenty bucks.”
Robert forced himself to keep quiet. The gun had been registered to a Martin Olsen from Oak Park who had reported the gun being stolen from his car over a year ago. There were no prints on it besides Raoul’s.
Was it possible that some guy had stolen it and resold it? Sure. Stolen goods got converted into money for drugs every day. It was the banking system that lots of people were familiar with.
But something just didn’t seem right. And Raoul had not copped to being involved with the shooting at Speedy’s Used Cars even though Robert had once again asked him about it.
Robert had called in a few favors with the state’s attorney’s office, and Raoul would not be prosecuted for possessing the stolen gun. JJ’s and Beau’s parents, likely wanting similar leniency for their sons, hadn’t pushed in the opposite direction.
“I’m sorry, Carmen,” Raoul said. “I never meant to worry you. Can I go to my room now?”
Carmen kissed his cheek and nodded. “We’ll eat something in a little bit,” she said.
Robert looked at the clock on the wall. Half past six. He’d left Sawyer a little more than two hours earlier.
He waited until he heard Raoul’s door close. “I’d like to stay but I have to go,” he said.
“Of course. Robert, I don’t know how to thank you. I don’t know exactly what happened in that alley but what I think is that I have my brother because of you.”
He shook his head. “I didn’t do that much. He really didn’t want to kill those boys. He’d just boxed himself into a corner.”
Carmen’s eyes filled with tears. “A gun. In my wildest dreams, I’d never have considered that he’d have a gun. I’d like to get my hands on that person,” she added.
“Nobody forced him to buy it,” Robert said, keeping his tone neutral.
She frowned at him, then shook her head. “You’re right. The responsibility lies with him. I know I’m too quick to cut him some slack. It’s just that when I think of how close I came to losing him, I just can’t stand it.”
He wanted to tell her his suspicions about Speedy’s Used Cars but he just couldn’t. Not tonight. She’d been through enough. Robert reached for her hand. “It’s over. Forget it.”
“No. I need to say something. I lost one brother and today, I almost lost another one. I would have. Whether he’d killed those boys or they’d killed him. Either way, I’d have lost him.”
“He’s lucky to have you. In lots of families, this would have caused a huge blowout. But you listened. You gave him a chance to explain.”
She sighed. “I wanted him to know that he could tell me anything. You know, it’s a terrible burden to have to hide things from those who love you. I know, better than most.”
Was she hiding something from him? Robert rubbed his chin. “I’m not sure I understand.”
Carmen got up and started to pace around the room. “I made a mistake when I was not much older than Raoul. A big mistake.”
She looked miserable. “Honey, that’s in the past. You don’t need to tell me.”
She stopped. “I have to tell someone. I have to. It’s killing me.”
She was s
caring him. “Okay. I’m listening. Please, just sit down. Talk to me.”
She sat in the chair across from him. “My junior year of high school, I fell in love with a boy who loved football more than he loved me. When I got pregnant, all he could see was his hopes and dreams ending. He didn’t want me or the baby.”
The bastard. “What happened?”
“I couldn’t tell my parents. I just couldn’t. They’d worked so hard. Hector had already split off from the family, had gone his own way with the gang. That had almost killed them. I couldn’t disappoint them again.” She clasped her hands together. “My mother barely spoke English and my father worked at a minimum wage job. But still, they had dreams that their children would have a better life.”
“What happened?”
“I hid my pregnancy. And every day, I tried to do something so that I’d lose the baby. I jumped off chairs. I turned cartwheels in gym class. I ran miles on the track at school. And eleven weeks into my pregnancy, my wish came true. I miscarried. I never told anybody.”
His heart broke for the young girl she’d been. “I’m sorry there was nobody there for you,” he said.
“It was almost exactly thirteen years ago. On January 18.”
Robert did the calculation and realized that the day he’d knocked on Carmen’s door, the day she’d been crying, had been the eighteenth. “You were just a kid, Carmen. A kid faced with an adult circumstance. And everything you did probably had nothing to do with you losing the baby. It probably just happened.”
“I guess we’ll never know. And that haunts me. I was a kid trying to handle an adult situation. Raoul had to make an adult decision today. I’m just thankful to you that he didn’t have to do it on his own.”
Neither of them would ever have to be on their own if he had his way. But now wasn’t the time to tell her that.
“What I’ve learned over the years is that none of us can go back,” Carmen continued. “Raoul can’t go back to being the kid he was before he threatened to kill two boys. He can’t go back. A person can only go forward. Thanks to you, he’s got a future to look forward to.”
She stood up. “I have a future to look forward to,” she added. “Now maybe you understand a little better why I waited thirteen years to be with another man. In some sick way, I was punishing myself, repentance for my sins, if you will. I had done something very wrong. I denied myself pleasure or love because I didn’t think I deserved it.”
