Miami's Forgotten

by Matt Lincoln

  LaShawn was quiet for a full minute before he even tried to speak to me. “Jake, first off, that was incredibly dumb. Going out there alone, exposing yourself to this kind of crap… I should be mad at you and report you, but… I know why you did it.”

  “You do?” I seriously doubted that.

  He shook his head. “You are trying to solve this mess with the ODs, and you’re taking stupid chances because I asked you to look into this. I’m sorry. Shouldn’t have asked you to---”

  My laugh cut him off, and it may have even offended him a bit. I held up one hand to stop him from saying more about it. “LaShawn, you reached out to me because you knew that I had a chance to do something about it. I knew the risks going in, and, well, you had to know that I’d be doing some of these types of things.”

  “You mean stupid things?” He countered. The look on his face was priceless, so I had one for him too.

  “Well, it’s not like I jumped out of a running car and took off after a known murderer in the middle of a business district.” He said nothing. I’d made my point, and he knew it.

  LaShawn looked away and tried to come to terms with this. “Okay, I’m sorry. You’re right. We’ve both done some really dumb things with this.”

  I wasn’t going to concede that, but I knew what he was getting at. “Then this will be your last lecture to me on it? You’ll let me do what I need to, to find these scumbags?” There were only so many ways to get this sort of thing done, and searching and investigating would have to be stepped up into the next part, which usually required more… persuasive measures and efforts.

  He nodded, and I knew that I’d gotten his permission and acceptance. Not that I needed it, but it made him feel better, and that’s what counted.

  I left him about an hour later, having caught up on all the news, reports, and plans that we could for the time being. I held back the information about the notebook for a couple of reasons. One, I still didn’t know what it really contained and if it was even related to any of this. Two, since Detective Musik, Cecily, had given it to me, I probably wasn’t supposed to be sharing that with everyone.

  Xavier was my own exception because if anyone could figure out what was in it and what it could mean, it was him. But I needed LaShawn to rest from his injury and take a back seat for now. When and if something happened where he’d be an asset, then and only then would I call him up. Knowing about the notebook and the possibilities of what it might hold would only worry him into rushing his recovery.

  With the rest of the afternoon freed up, I put in a call to Mr. Padilla, the younger, to see how the bookkeeping and financials had been going. He was pleased to report that they’d have all of it ready by the end of the week. The other good news was that he’d been able to transfer a lot of the licensures over without too much hassle. Apparently, he knew people or at least the right people.

  I thanked him graciously for all his help again. I got off that call feeling a little more relieved about the situation as a whole. I still needed to do a bunch of work around the marina, and until George or Xavier had some answers for me about the substances or the notebook, I was going to work on Wraith’s new home.

  As I drove, I got a text from Verity. I hated to admit it, but I’d forgotten about the incident from earlier. At my next stop, I took a minute to read it.

  Sorry, I let that stuff get under my skin. But to be fair, you were an ass. Want to talk things over tonight? Your place @ 8? I’ll bring dinner.

  I smiled to myself. If that were as bad as things would get, I could certainly live with that. I texted back that eight was fine and that I couldn’t wait to see her. And I knew that I needed to smooth things over, as we’d both been more than a little distracted lately.

  Those who knew me knew that I wasn’t big on gifts of any sort. And while this… spat (because I didn’t know what else to classify it as) was minor comparatively, I didn’t want Verity to think that I was downplaying us, or this disagreement, whatever it was.

  So, I found a nicely priced sweet Riesling that would be a good opening and finisher to the evening. Verity just seemed like the kind of woman that might appreciate something special, and she deserved it. Next, I decided that a trip to the local florist was in order.

  What I did find was something totally unexpected and a little on the exclusive side. This wasn’t just a place to buy an arrangement. It was a shop dedicated to sending the perfect and personalized message for the particular person you were shopping for. Each and every flower and plant had meaning, and they helped to craft a one of a kind memory. If anyone would appreciate the attention to detail and the personalized message, it would be Verity.

  I carried the most bizarre-looking and peculiar smelling bouquet into my condo and waited for the evening. I tried to set a mood that was relaxing and fun, without the worry of a ‘date’ feel. Our last event together had been all about her work, and I thought that a complete change of pace was warranted. However, not knowing what was on the menu that she was bringing made some decisions tricky.

  I had the wine chilled, and I also had some longneck beers in the fridge in case she wanted to blow off some steam. With ten minutes to spare, I had her flowers on the dining table in a vase, along with the notecard that explained what each one meant. That was beyond my areas of interest, but this wasn’t for me. There was a knock on the door, and it was showtime.

  There was soft modern guitar playing in the background that would not enforce any kind of atmosphere other than an intimate, soothing one. I hoped that tonight, Verity and I could just sit, eat, and talk without the pressures of the outside world barging in. Time would tell on that, though.

  I opened the door to see her looking amazing, which was never a surprise. Her black hair was up and back, and she was wearing a cute wrap dress in a light pink color. She wore wedges to make her just tall enough for me to welcome her with a kiss and not have to lean too far down. She was gorgeous, and I forgot all thoughts of gentlemanly behavior for a split second.

  “How is it that you always look so good, Miss Yout?” I took her hand and led her in. Sure, she’d spent the night here before, but I wanted her to feel welcome and maybe even a little spoiled tonight.

  Verity walked in with a bag of something that smelled delicious. I caught a few whiffs of grilled lobster and a sweet, garlicky butter aroma. “This old thing?” She twirled around to show off the dress. “I just threw this on because I didn’t have a thing to wear.”

  She was playing with me, and I didn’t mind at all. Once the door was closed, we headed for the kitchen to set dinner up.

  “I wasn’t sure if you’d want to sit and relax for a while or dive into the food,” I said. “It’s your call. I can go with either tonight.” The truth was, though, the smell of that lobster was making my knees weak and causing my stomach to lurch.

  “How about,” she was looking around and saw the wine, “oh! That’s excellent. How about we go to eat on your patio? It’s so nice tonight, and that way we can relax and eat and just…” She stopped talking long enough to grab me around the neck and kiss me again.

  I could see where this was going. “How about I put the food in the fridge and we---”

  Verity beat me to it. With one hand, she put away the food, and with the other hand, she was going for my waist. I had no desire to stop her. We were stripping our clothes and heading for the master bedroom before I even had a chance to think about anything else. Maybe I should get under her skin more often.

  19

  LaShawn

  By the time I was released to go back to work, I was raring to go. While I had enjoyed a few days of rest and relaxation, I realized that I was much happier with something to do. Gunshot wound aside, I was feeling good and wanted to do something productive. So, on my first night back, I intended to tackle all the rest of the intake forms that had been piling up in the secondary office.

  Cing was off tonight, and that paired me with Patricia and the intern, Zane. With all the stuff going
on lately, the powers that be bumped up the overnight staff to help with the overflow of the community. It wasn’t until I got back to work after my hiatus that I noticed what a difference there was between the news version of the ODs and the reality.

  When I came in, Zane was already taking names and passing out cups of coffee from a tray. He was a newer addition to the Center, but he had the capability to become one of my favorites. He had reddish-blond hair and a light brown skin complexion. He was a little overweight, but he moved faster than people half his size. He was friendly and took every challenge with a smile. He was a good kind of kid to have around, especially at night.

  Patricia was a take-charge kind of woman that had been at Edler for as long as I had. She was the kind of person that everyone spoke well of but didn’t always want to work with. Tonight, I was perfectly fine with her taking the lead and letting me hang back. Plus, with Zane there, it should have been an easy shift.

  I noticed that the halls were lining up with our nightly guests and that at the far end, some cots had already been laid out. I wanted to find Patricia and find out what was going on. She was in Room Four, setting up extra chairs with the help of some of our regulars, like Bryelle and Lyriq. Once she saw me, she hurriedly came over and dragged me into a corner to talk.

  “I am glad that you’re back, LaShawn. How are you doing?” She was smiling, but it was her work face. It wasn’t exactly genuine, but it wasn’t altogether fake, either. She was known for it.

  “I’m feeling good, thanks,” I nodded. “I was hoping to stay on light duty, per the doctor’s orders, so Tasha told me to work on the intake forms tonight. But I’ll be available for the little stuff.” I wanted to put my word in first, just to play it safe.

  “Yes, she sent me an email about that,” Patricia assured me. “But I wanted you to know that things the past few nights have been different here.” She lowered her voice and leaned in, pulling me down to get level with her stance. “There are a lot of rumors going around that our community members are being targeted by a cartel for some reason. I tend to think it’s all bunk, but the people coming here are scared, and they’re really looking to us to make them feel safe.”

  I bit back my desire to reply with something about always living up to that standard, but I saw no point in it. I would let Patricia have her say and follow along. For now, anyway.

  “And I’m sure that you noticed the cots at the end of the corridor?” She continued. “Those are for naps only. We have a timesheet for three-hour naps, once a night. Watch out for Herman, though. He likes to sneak in and then tell us that he can’t tell time.” Patricia sighed at this with a semi-eye roll.

  It wasn’t anything that I hadn’t heard or dealt with before, but I was in no mood to argue. I would take tonight’s events as they came and be happy just to be back at work. That was the motto that I promised myself to try to live up to.

  The night was a slow one, and I popped in and out of the rooms, listening for short periods and letting our people see that I was okay and doing well. Several had brought in gifts to welcome me back. I was going to go home with a pet rock, a slightly dented lighter, a knitted pair of socks, and something that sort of smelled like cheese, but I wasn’t positive. It made me feel loved to have them think of me, and I appreciated the effort. I told each of them that, too.

  By 3 AM, the cots were all full, and more had to be put up along the walls. I heard a few guests talking about how they had found bodies in other alleys, but the police never bothered to investigate. I didn’t know if that was true at all, but it was telling. The overdoses hadn’t stopped, and it appeared that the murdered victims were outnumbering the survivors of the forced injections.

  Lyriq found me at a little past four, and he brought up Colby Tamez, the young man that he himself had dragged into Edler that one night. That had been what really started my mission to find the murderers behind the injection ODs.

  “You ever see that kid again that I dragged here?” Lyriq asked.

  I didn’t want to have to tell him, but I wasn’t going to break our hard-built trust with a kind-hearted lie now. I nodded my head and tried to find the best way to tell him without worrying him. “I found out that he died in his apartment a few days ago, Lyriq. But I don’t think that it was an OD. They may have said that it was, but…” I got real close and tried to make this sound hush-hush. “I have a friend in the Miami Police Department, and they told me that it's just a cover story. But that’s all that they could tell me.”

  I hoped that would satisfy his curiosity and let him see that it wasn’t a waste of time to help others. That was always a danger in this line of work. You didn’t often get to see the positive outcomes, but you continually got blamed for the bad ones. I wanted Lyriq to know that what he’d done that night had made a difference, no matter what.

  He nodded and grinned at me, then touched the side of his nose with a single finger. “I gotcha.” He thought that I was feeding him a high fiction version of Colby’s death, but maybe that was for the best. I wasn’t going to correct him.

  “But that’s all just between you and me, understand?” I asked. “These folks around here don’t need extra things to worry about.” I had told him the truth. It wasn’t up to me to make him believe it, though. I felt that a change of subject matter was due. “So, you have to fill me in on what’s been going on since I was away. No scandals to report?”

  I was asking the wrong person if I wanted a full rundown of events. Edler knew that Bryelle was the best source for tall tales, gossip, and straight-up lies. But she was harmless for the most part. We kept her stories about employees and guests here to a minimum and made it a point to stop her from spreading too much disinformation. For tonight, however, I was going to listen to everything Lyriq had to say because I had missed hearing it.

  It was about 4:45 AM when I saw a familiar and unexpected face come into Edler. I had found out the chimes had been turned off due to the heavier than usual traffic and the napping area. A girl with a dirty, bruised face, torn up clothing, and blonde hair hesitantly crept in and headed for the bathrooms. I listened to my instincts and reached for my phone.

  I just prayed that Jake was awake and willing this time of the morning because I needed his expert eyes and tracking skills ASAP. Luckily for me, he answered on the second ring.

  “LaShawn? Is everything okay?” His voice was a little sleepier than I’d hoped it would be.

  “Yeah, but you know our girl, the runaway witness?” I knew that he remembered. The guy never forgot anything. “She’s here at Edler right now. I don’t know that I should engage her, but if you were here, and she ran or left, you could track her and find out what she knows.” I thought it best to inform him of the rest. “She looks rough. Beat up for sure. She’s going to be scared, but you might be able to get her to trust you. You know, by offering to beat up whoever hurt her.”

  “That is a terrible idea, LaShawn.” But I could hear Jake getting up, anyway. “Give me a few minutes. I’ll get there as soon as I can.”

  He wasn’t going to let me down. I knew that. Jake Header was going to keep his word and get to the bottom of this mess. So, I did my part. It felt a little creepy to watch the lady’s restroom door for any sign of her, but I didn’t want to miss a chance of seeing when and if she left.

  I wondered if she’d remember me if I got closer and maybe just happened to have a snack or cup of coffee ready for her. Even I knew that was too weird. I didn’t want anything to scare her off if I could help it. When she’d been in there for about ten minutes, I started to get worried, though. I was going to have to take a chance and get Patricia to go in and check on her. That would mean leaving my post, and I hated to do it.

  Bryelle teetered out of Room Five about that time, and I motioned her over to me with relief. “I need your help, Bryelle, please! There’s a girl, a teenager in the bathroom over there, and she hasn’t come out in a while. We need to make sure that she’s okay. Can you please go ask Patricia to
go look in on her?”

  I’d had the thought of sending Bryelle, but in case the scene in there wasn’t a good one, Patricia was trained to handle it. Bryelle nodded enthusiastically and walked back into the room. A few minutes later, Patricia came out and headed right for me. “What’s going on?”

  I gave her the short version without all the backstory, and she hurried for the restroom. It was locked, but we all carried a master key for occasions like this when we needed to get in and check on a person’s wellbeing.

  Patricia went in, and within a few seconds, she was waving me over. I ran to get there and looked inside. The girl was lying on the floor, curled up in a ball. She had been crying but had either passed out or, hopefully, just fallen asleep. She was holding her knees to her chest still, and she was wearing different clothing from the first time that I’d seen her.

  “Her name was Jozie,” I whispered to Patricia from just inside the door frame. The tile in the restroom floor was certainly not comfortable, so that told us that she must have been exhausted to land there and stay. Patricia motioned for us to go out, so she and I closed the door behind us and guarded it.

  She spoke in her quiet, indoor boss voice. “Does she have any family that we should contact?”

  “She has them, but her file says that’s why she ran away. She was here once before, and she was in way better shape then. No telling what she’s been through since then.” I hated to see anyone abused by life in this way. And no matter how long I worked here, I’d never get used to it.

  “CPS and social services then?” Patricia was already pulling out her cell. I nodded as she moved off to make the call. I was going to stay right here until Jozie came out of the restroom, or until Jake showed up. The girl was not leaving my sight again.