“That’s very nice of you, Jake, but we have to wait awhile before we go back to the house.”
“Why?”
“Because my CSI buddies are still investigating. That’s something that takes a while. But as soon as they’re done, I’ll get the game tickets and bring them back for you to give to Lucas.” Jake twisted his mouth in disappointment. Zach ignored it without comment and continued. “What public school did you attend before you were home-schooled?”
“PS 175.” When Zach had a quizzical expression on his face, Jake jerked his head back. “You can’t miss it on City Island Avenue.”
“Well, I’m new to City Island, so there’s lot of things I don’t know about yet.”
“Oh, I didn’t know that. So you don’t live on City Island?”
“Yes, I live here. I have a small bungalow on the island.”
“Hey, maybe I can come live with you instead.”
“I wish, bud, but my boss wouldn’t allow that because you’re a witness.”
“Oh.”
“So tell me about your neighbors.” Jake’s hands shook. Zach reached out to him. “Take a deep breath, bud.” The boy remained silent for a few minutes until the tears came streaming down his cheeks. Zach reached out for him and the boy leaned in closer. “Talk to me, Jake. Let me help you.”
Jake was shaking his head. “You can’t. I’m a bad person.”
“Why would you say such a thing?”
“Because I got my father killed.”
“And how would you have done that?”
Jake was shaking his head up and down now. “It’s true. They killed him because they must have seen me spying on them at night.”
“What do you mean, son?”
“The bad guys. I’d get out of bed at night after dad tucked me in and watch them in their backyard. I didn’t at first, but a couple of times, I’d hear them talking really loud. One night I stood by the open window. It was dark and I don’t think they saw me, but I coughed,” he started to cry, “I tried to muffle it, but what if they saw me?”
“I doubt they saw you in the dark, bud. If they did, sport, they would have polished you off the next day.”
“Yeah, but my dad got killed, so it has to be my fault.”
He rubbed the boy’s back. “What exactly were they doing in the backyard?”
Zach handed him his hankie to blow his nose. He wiped his eyes and his nose, then swallowed hard before answering the question. “I’d see the guys loading a cart with wooden boxes. One late night last week, I heard a crash and one guy was cussing out another.”
“What crashed?”
“It was one of the boxes I’ve seen them moving in and out. It fell off the cart.” He stared at Zach wide-eyed. “Guns.” His face contorted with fear. “I didn’t tell dad because I knew he’d get mad at me for watching them.”
“Can you identify the two guys you saw?”
“No. It was dark. The crates came out at night.”
“Are you sure?”
Jake shook his head violently. “I’m sure. Don’t you believe me?”
“Of course, I do, Jake. Why would you ask me if I believe you?”
“Because Dad never believed me when I told him stuff.”
“Like what?”
“If I said I wasn’t feeling well he’d say I was doing it to get out of school work . . . stuff like that.” His lips thinned with irritation.
“Did you ever lie and say you were sick when you weren’t?”
“Yeah, once, I did.”
“Well, that’s why,” Zach said, giving him a gentle tap on the arm.
“Yeah, I guess.” Jake adjusted the ball cap on his head.
“Can you tell me anything about their conversation? Even one word.”
“Yeah. They used the ‘F’ word a lot. Dad didn’t like me opening the windows at night, but I was dying for some fresh air so I opened it. When I saw the neighbors, I stayed and listened to hear someone else talk.”
It was true, people doing bad things typically kept a low profile, but it sounded like these two guys were low on the list of bright lightbulbs. Regardless, Zach was certain Jake needed protection, and he wasn’t going to waste any more time calling Springer. This boy needed to leave City Island. “Jake, I need to make a phone call. Will you stay in the car while I do?”
“Okay.”
“Hey, I almost forgot,” Zach, said, reaching for a bag on the back seat. “I have something for you.”
“What?”
Zach handed him a bag of candy. “This is for you.”
“Hey, thanks,” Jake said, and within seconds, he’d unwrapped one of the candy bars and bit into it.
“You’re welcome.” Zach shut the door and dialed Springer. “Detective Gerard here,” he said when Springer answered. “I’m with the Thomas boy right now, and I think you need to speak to him. He knows a lot more than I figured. He says he didn’t really see their faces, but if he was camping out at his window at night, I’m certain he should be taken to a safe house or some place for protection. Right now, no one knows where he is. But if the gun smuggling community does find out and thinks he can identify them, he’s history. Right now, he’s living with a family with six kids and I’m afraid word will spread like wild fire and none of them will be safe.”
“You do know statistically eye witnesses are usually inaccurate unless of course, they identify a witness who has some unique identifying tattoo or mark on their bodies.”
“That may be the case, but right now, he’s saying he can’t.”
“Okay, either way though, we need to talk to him. In the meantime, I need to call the U.S. Marshals service and convince them that this kid needs witness protection because he could be invaluable to us. Zach could hear talking in the background. “Excuse me,” Springer said, and answered someone’s question. A second later, he returned to the call. “I’ll call the foster mother and ask her to bring him in.”
“Springer, wait. She’s got six other kids here. Why can’t I bring him into your office?”
“No. What happens if he’s hurt while in your care?”
“The same thing that would happen in the foster mother’s care,” he retorted. “Nothing is going to happen to this little guy. Please let me do it. He’s scared out of his mind. I got him to trust me this afternoon. I’ll tell him what’s going on. But are you sure we should get another department involved? It would seem like the fewer people that know about this the better.”
“First of all, we have no choice. The US Marshals are the ones who run Witsec and they’ll need my assurance that this kid is an important part to a federal case. Otherwise they won’t get involved. And as far as his safety is concerned, no participant who adhered to the program’s guidelines has ever been harmed since it was launched in 1971. He’ll be as safe as the gold in Fort Knox.”
“I know, but I’m the one person he trusts right now.”
“You know, Zach, you’re getting to be a pain in the ass.”
“You ain’t seen nothing yet, Springe,” Zach retorted.
Zach made his way back out to the car with Jake’s suitcase in his hand after talking to the foster mother. Jake was smiling when Zach entered the car.
“Well, bud, you got your wish. You’re leaving here.”
“Am I going to Aunt Irene’s house?”
“That hasn’t been decided yet. Do you want to say goodbye to the kids?”
“I guess I should, but I don’t really want to.”
“Okay, but Lucas will always wonder what happened to you if you don’t.”
“All right,” Jake’s weary voice rang out. “What should I tell them?”
“You’re going to your aunt’s house.”
“But you said I wasn’t.”
“Right. You’re going to headquarters with me to meet some of my friends.”
“So why can’t I tell them that?”
“Because this is official police business.” Zach paused temporarily. “Okay,
how about I deputize you?”
“You mean like a real deputy?”
“Like a real deputy.”
“Do I get a badge like you?”
“I’ll give you a badge when we get back to headquarters.” He gave Jake a questionable glance. “So are you ready?” Jake nodded his agreement. “Okay, hold up your hand like this,” he said, “I, Detective Zachary Gerard do hereby deputize Jake . . . you have a middle name?”
“Dylan.”
“Jake Dylan Thomas to be a temporary deputy to work with the NYPD.” Zach gave him a high five. “This is really important stuff you know?”
“I know. And I’ll be good at this. But are you saying it’s okay to lie when it’s official police business?”
“No. It’s never okay to lie, but you can’t divulge too much either, so we have to stretch the truth a little. We don’t want valuable information falling into the wrong hands. You okay with that?”
“Okay, I guess. Dad . . .” he stopped abruptly, took a deep breath then continued. “All right. I’ll say goodbye.” He reached for the bag of candy Zach had given him. “Okay if I give this to Luc?”
“Of course. I think that’s very nice of you,” he said as they exited the car and headed toward the kids. Zach stayed close by Jake. When the kids saw him heading in their direction, they made a beeline and circled around him.
“I came to say goodbye,” Jake announced. “I’ll be going to my aunt’s.”
“You can’t go,” Lucas said bursting into tears and latching onto Jake’s leg. “Can I come with you?”
“Not this time, Luc. I’m sorry.” Tears were now forming in Jake’s eyes. “I’ll come back and see you though. Okay?” The other kids waved and ran in the opposite direction, but Lucas wasn’t letting go. Jake gave him a tight hug. “Here,” Jake said shoving the bag of candy into his hand. “I got this stuff for you.”
Zach swallowed hard regretting his suggestion and decided it was time to leave. Mrs. Hodges must have been watching from the window because she appeared outside and walked toward them. “C’mon inside, Lucas. Want to have a soda with that candy?”
“Okay.” He kissed Jake and ran up the steps, stopping half way up. “You promise you’ll come back and see me?”
“Yeah, Luc, I promise.”
On the ride to the precinct, Jake was silent. “Hey, buddy. I know it’s hard. You’ve had a lot of horrible things happen over the last few days, but things will get better.”
“Not if my dad isn’t here, they won’t.”
“Try to be patient. Okay?”
“Where are we going?” Jake asked.
“To the precinct so I can get your badge. But first, I want to talk to you about the comment you made earlier that it was your fault your dad got killed. I can almost guarantee you it wasn’t, bud.” Jake had a blank expression on his face. “No, I’m serious. When the feds showed up, they scattered and exchanged gunfire and unfortunately, your dad got caught with a stray bullet, and well . . . you know what happened.” He turned back to Jake. “They probably don’t even know they killed him.”
“Are you sure?”
“I’m 99.9 percent positive. You had nothing to do with it. But because you saw those guys, my friends have a very important job for you—especially now that I’ve already deputized you.”
“Yeah, what’s that?”
“Looking at pictures to see if you recognize any of them. Can you do that for us?”
“I can try. I told you I couldn’t see them at night . . . but I might have seen them during the day, once or twice.” He stopped talking and frowned, “I think one had a tattoo on the back of his head.”
“See, you’re already a natural at this. My friends are going to be really impressed you were so observant. So give it your best shot. Okay?” Zach said. He reached over and patted the boy on the shoulder. “I’ll bet if you think real hard, you might remember something else about them too.”
“I did good, Gerard?” Jake asked. “Isn’t that how they talk on those police shows on television?”
Zach laughed. “Yes, you did good. And yes, that’s the same way my boss talks to all of us--last names only.”
Zach guided Jake through the double-doors at headquarters and was directed by an agent standing by toward an interrogation room where two special agents waited. “Jake, these men work for a special organization in law enforcement. He introduced them. “This is Special Agents Springer and Bega and they have a few questions to ask you.” The boy’s body began to shake again. “Listen, sport, they’re nice men. You have nothing to be afraid of. Okay? You’re important to their investigation and they need your help.” Zach headed for the door on a nod from Springer.
“Can’t you stay?” Jake asked in a rush of words.
“I have to get your shield. No one’s going to believe you’ve been deputized if they don’t see that first. You stay with these nice men for a while and answer their questions. I’ll see you in a little while.” He pointed toward the door. “I’m going to be right outside this door. Okay?”
The boy clamped his mouth shut and slouched in the chair. Zach knew they were making a mistake by not asking him to sit in the room, but neither appeared willing to listen. He exited and walked over to the lieutenant’s secretary, Faith Valley.”
“Good morning, Zach,” she said when she saw him. “The lieutenant wants to see you,” she said.
“I’m working a case right now. Does he need to see me this minute?”
“No, he’s been in a meeting all morning, but I’ll schedule an appointment for you to meet at four o’clock, but call in first before you come back.”
“Who the hell is he talking to for so long?” She shot him a you-know-better-than-to-ask glance. “Yeah, yeah, I know. What does he want to see me about?”
“The Thomas boy.”
Zach knew exactly what he wanted to see him about. Springer must have squealed like a baby and told him he’d broken protocol. Regardless, he was going to play dumb. “Well, that’s the case I’m working on. The kid is in the interrogation room with ATF right now, but I came here to ask you for a junior badge for the kid.”
Faith walked to the filing cabinet and opened the door to an organized set up with each shelf labeled with its contents. “We have a few different types here. Want to pick one?”
“Whatever one your hand hits first. I’m sure Jake won’t care.” He read the badge and smiled. It read, Junior Deputy, NYPD. “This badge will make this kid’s day. By the way, does the Lieutenant know he’s here?”
“I’ll sneak in a note to let him know.”
“Okay. So long as he’s aware.”
Zach walked into the viewing room and sat down to watch the agents question Jake, who sat with his arms folded, refusing to answer their questions. He watched as the two agents tried to get Jake to open up to them. When Springer finally conceded and threw his arms up in despair, Zach watched him exit the room and listened to Agent Bega try to coax Jake into answering his questions. Seconds later, Springer entered the viewing room.
“Did you tell this kid not to answer our questions?” he said, his voice rose to a higher decibel.
“You did not just ask me that question,” Zach said in a sharp response. “I want to keep this kid alive as much as you do. If you had taken the time to get to know Jake instead of rushing in with your questions, you might have been more successful.” He shook his head annoyed by the agent’s disregard for him and the safety of the boy. “You need to understand this kid lived a hermit’s life with his father. I’m the first person he met after we came on the scene. I’m not saying he loves me, but I’m handling him with kid gloves as you should be. Now, if you want my help, ask for it.”
Springer tightened his lips, his words barely audible. “Yes, Gerard. I need your help.”
Zach pushed back in his chair. “That’s all you had to say. Now, do you have a set of questions you want me to ask?”
Springer pulled out a tablet from the breast pock
et of his suit and began writing. When he finished, he handed it to Zach.
“Are you coming in with me?”
“No, I’ll observe from here,” he said. “And send Bega out too.”
“Will do.” Zach felt better knowing he was doing something good for the boy. Jake’s eyes widened with surprise when Zach entered the interrogation room.
“Hey, bud, I have your official shield. How are you doing?”
“They’re asking me all kinds of questions, Gerard. But I don’t like them so I’m not answering.”
“Listen bud, you know there’s going to be a lot of people in your future that you might not like or want to speak to, but you gotta suck it up buddy. These guys are trying to help you.”
Jake focused on the shield and rubbed his fingers over the bumpy surface. “Thanks for this,” he said holding it up.” He looked up at Zach. “You know, we never socialized with anyone. Dad would talk to Aunt Irene when he came to pick me up, but that was about it. That’s why I don’t know if I should talk to them. Maybe they’re going to hurt me.”
“I understand that, but we’re all in law enforcement and keeping you safe is our top priority. You can help make that easier by answering their questions. Please get it out of your head that you’re going to get in trouble. You know how you told me the guy had a tat on the back of his head?” Jake nodded. “Well that kind of stuff is real important,” he lowered his eyes to Jake’s level. It worked before and he was hoping it would work again. “So providing us with information about them will help us catch these bad guys and put them behind bars where they belong. So, will you tell me?”
“You said I was gonna look at pictures. They didn’t give me anything to look at.”
“Okay. We’ll do that next, but remember what you and I talked about in the car?” he focused on the boy’s eyes.
“Yeah.”
“Okay, well, I’m going to ask you those questions all over again so we can get them recorded on tape. Alright?”
“That’s what they do on television when the bad guys are being questioned.”
Elusive Justice (Kensington-Gerard Detective series Book 2) Page 6
