“ What do you do for a living?”
“I’m on disability.” She said, not explaining what her disability was. She was not even forty yet and was living on government assistance. He felt instant anger at a system that would coddle a well bodied person when real disabled people were still trying to make their way without a government crutch.
“I wanted to be a dancer; you know that?” She asked, walking a few steps away from where they were standing. “I had talent and a dream that I could do it, too. I was talented for a young girl. My dad made me drop out because he didn’t want to take me to practice in the evenings. That happened a lot. I would want to do something, and daddy would force me to quit because it interrupted his schedule.” She sat down in a recliner on top of the clothes that were already on it.
“I went to Lubbock and met your sister yesterday. She seems nice.” Mike could think of nothing else to say. He suddenly felt awkward in this house, like a trespasser who was spying on someone who was unaware of his presence.
She looked at him, “Is that where she’s living? I haven’t seen her in years.” Her eyes were welling up with tears as she got lost in her thoughts.
“So, James coming here to live?” Mike had to try one more time to get an answer.
“I don’t know. He and I started chatting on texts four months or so back. He and Lydia, my daughter, connected on the internet somehow and started talking. I don’t know.”
Mike decided to push the rest of the way and see what happened. “Lydia live here, too?”
Christine snorted and laughed as a tear ran out her eye. “Look around, man. I can barely take care of myself, much less a retard child. I don’t mean it like it sounds. Lydia is a smart girl, but she has problems. We all have problems though, and I can’t be bothered with hers when I got my own.”
Mike thought back to talking to Lydia yesterday morning. She seemed to be a sweet girl who was so happy just to be hanging out laundry. Mike imagined the girl tackling every chore with that innocent joy she displayed yesterday. And here, her wreck of a mom was calling her a retard. One of the most-vilest names you could heap on one of the most helpless of people. He felt his anger rising.
“Well, I talked to Lydia, she seems to be a sweet girl. You could learn something from her if you paid attention. I bet her room doesn’t look anything like this house does. She’s your daughter and you put her down like that?” He turned walking back through the mess, out the door to his pickup and left. He made a mental note not to talk to Christine Parks ever again in his life.
Mike entered the Chief’s office without knocking twenty minutes later. Tolliver glanced up and leaned back in his chair as Mike took a seat. He filled him in on his visit with Christine.
“Well, she’s in the condition she’s in because of poor choices. I have no sympathy for someone like that.” Chief said. He activated the intercom and spoke into it, “Y’all come here.”
He leaned back again in his chair and waited.
Morgan and Williams came walking in followed by Amy Roberts. Amy was the lone female police officer in Colby, she joined the department about two years ago usually working evening shift from four to twelve. She was from Lubbock and had graduated from Texas Tech University. She come to Colby when she didn’t get hired by Lubbock PD. Mike noticed the two men allowed Roberts to take the other chair and they stood.
“I asked Amy to join us here, because I think a female will be helpful to this mess. I don’t know what we are looking for exactly, but I’m curious about this family. I want my curiosity cured.” Chief said, looking at everyone and pointing at Morgan.
“Mike? You and Amy see if you can speak to that young girl. I want to know what her and James were texting about back and forth. Me and Jimmy will try to follow up with Toby before he goes back to Dallas. The kid’s body is being released today so the funeral home can take it to Dallas.” Morgan said.
Chief Tolliver looked around again then stood, “This family is a mystery. I want to know why?” He dismissed the group.
11
Mike and Amy Roberts walked outside to the parking lot together. She was dressed in street clothes and when dressed that way she did not look like a cop. “I’m on days off, so I hope we don’t get tied up in something big. I don’t want to be here.”
“Chief wants to know about James Parks’ activities, and this family is pretty close lipped when it comes to talking about other family members.”
“The Chief is just bored. He thinks we don’t have anything better to do. Look, Mike, I don’t want to sound indifferent to your situation. But, what difference does it make why the boy was here? He’s still dead.”
Mike had nothing to say to that. Roberts and he worked different days and shifts, so he rarely seen her. He had forgotten how much of a pain in the ass she could be. It was going to be a long day.
They got in Roberts’ patrol car and headed toward George Parks’ residence to try to visit with Lydia. Mike gave Roberts the run down on the girl and her condition.
“I’ll use small words, okay.” Roberts said, when Mike was finished.
“You know, Amy, her own mother called her a retard this morning. Now you’re making fun of her and you don’t even know nothing about her. Chief wants you here to help talk to her, fine, nothing I can do about that, but if you insult her again, we are going to have problems. Got it?” Mike was surprised at his own anger about the girl being insulted. Who made him her protector he thought as he glanced at Roberts, who remained silent as she continued to drive? They pulled up in front of the Parks’ house and sat for a moment watching. Roberts finally spoke.
“I’m sorry. Sometimes I try too hard to be one of the guys. I shouldn’t have said that earlier.”
“It’s not me you should apologize to. When you see this girl, remember what you said and thought about her. You can be one of the guys and still be a decent person.” He said, as he got out of the car.
Roberts got out and they both walked to the front porch, which looked in need of repair like the rest of the house did. There were wooden planks that were missing from the porch allowing a view to the ground underneath. Mike did not recall noticing this the first time he was here with Morgan. They stepped up and rang the doorbell. He wasn’t sure it was working, so he knocked.
The door was opened by a young boy who appeared to be around six years old. Mike smiled at the boy, but the boy didn’t smile back.
“Is Lydia here?” Mike asked.
“Yeah.” He closed the door and they could hear him running inside. A few minutes later Lydia opened the door. She recognized Mike and she smiled.
“Hi! You’re my friend from yesterday. The policeman.” She said, stepping out on the porch and closing the door.
“That’s right. We met twice already. This is Officer Roberts. We would like to talk to you. Is that okay?” Mike asked.
“I ain’t suppose to talk to strangers.” She said, looking confused.
“Well, now, I ain’t exactly a stranger. You just said we were friends, right?” Lydia nodded as she smiled, so Mike pushed on. “Who was that boy who answered the door?”
“My brother. He’s six.”
“How about your cousin, Jamey? Did you like him living here?” Mike asked.
Lydia stopped smiling and Mike seen her composure change from happy to something else. Roberts noticed also and felt the need to ask her own question even though she did not know the dynamics well enough to know what to ask.
“Was he living here long?” Roberts asked, pushing aside her caution. This girl was a sweetheart who seemed so kind, yet so guarded. Collins was right, she was sorry she had made fun of this child in such a callous way. She made a note to not be so judgmental in the future.
“Yeah!” Lydia said, then she looked around and continued. “I have to go now. I can’t talk about family people. Only adults can do that.” She turned and walked back in the house closing the door before Collins or Roberts could respond.
They wal
ked back to the patrol unit and got in. Roberts tried apologizing for asking a question, but Mike cut her off.
“Don’t worry about it. You didn’t do anything wrong. This girl, the whole family, they all shut down when you ask personal questions. The daughter that lives in Lubbock did the same thing to me yesterday, only with more style.” He said, as Roberts backed up and headed toward the street.
Mike decided he wanted to see what the Lieutenant and Captain uncovered in their visit with Toby Parks before doing anything else. He asked Roberts to take him back to the office.
The Chief was walking out as they pulled into the parking lot. Mike wasted no time on pleasantries and filled him in on their visit to talk to Lydia. Tolliver listened, then invited them both to accompany him to the diner for lunch. As they walked slowly to the diner they continued talking.
“Toby was the only one that volunteered a peek behind the curtain yesterday. He said his dad was a tyrant to him and his sisters. Christine told a story about George making her quit dance classes because he didn’t want her to go. Maybe they had a crappy childhood and just don’t like their parents.” Mike said.
“Look, I’ve known George since I was a kid. He’s a few years older than me, but I remember my father doing business with his father and George was always around. The old man was rude, and boorish. Maybe George inherited those same traits. I just know George never had many friends around that I know of when he was growing up. He was on the city council that appointed me chief. I think he only served one term though, I don’t remember it well but seems he didn’t get along with others on the council back then.” Tolliver told them as he held the diner door opened for them to enter.
The diner staff appeared to be gearing up for the lunch rush that was about to start. The special of the day was meatloaf and it always brought a lot of guests in who ordinarily would not eat lunch. Mike could smell the food and realized he was hungry. It was still empty of customers now since it was just past eleven, but at noon you would have to wait to be seated.
They took a seat at a far table as the server brought menus. After ordering, Tolliver finished his thought, “I just don’t know. If you asked me to write a book of all the secrets on the lives of the people of Colby, it would be lengthy, most of it boring, and make a lot of people mad. His chapter, though, would be empty.”
“Well, I don’t know any of them since I am not from here, but the few times I have gone into the hardware store for stuff, he kinda creeps me out.” Roberts said, sipping her water.
“Why?” Tolliver asked,
“I don’t know. I always feel he’s gawking at me. Like a woman isn’t supposed to be in the manly world of hardware gadgets. That’s how it feels to me, anyway.”
Tolliver nodded. “Grand Jury will be done at one.” He said, changing the subject abruptly.
Mike had forgotten all about the Grand Jury. He was so wrapped up in this wild goose chase that was going on he forgot about the importance of today. He lost his appetite. He spent the rest of the meal in silent dread of what could be his last meal as a police officer.
12
Finished eating but still feeling conflicted about the Grand Jury, Mike and Roberts left the Chief sitting there talking to some locals. They decided to go talk to the Lieutenant and compare notes. Mike noticed that Roberts had been uncharacteristically quiet since their visit to the Parks’ house and talking to Lydia. Shaking off his own concerns about the Grand Jury he asked what was bothering her.
“I don’t know. Just I see you and the others, the Chief. Y’all made a career here and none of you seem to think about going other places. You seem happy here. I want that, I guess.”
“You ain’t happy here?” Mike asked.
“I am. I guess. I keep thinking of Lubbock. I washed out there, I wasn’t good enough for them. Maybe being a cop in a city like Colby is all I’m meant to do. I just keep thinking about it, you know?” She said, as they crossed the street to the police station.
“Well, we got the same crime as Lubbock. We got dopers, thieves, and wife beaters just like Lubbock or Dallas or anywhere else. Even an occasional murder and rape. Difference is, here you know the victims and their families better than you would in a big city. Look, Amy, you can have a good career in a small city, you can be happy and feel you’re making a difference. You get out of this job what you put in, and all that is up to you. The job is still the job, no matter how big a population.”
They walked into the lobby and let the conversation drop. Mike held the door going into the hallway as Roberts passed through. She gave him a slight smile as she passed him. Mike felt a jolt inside, she was a pretty woman, he thought as he watched her walk into the hallway. He pushed the thought aside and followed her.
Morgan motioned for them to come into his office when they glanced in his doorway. Mike briefly related the results of their morning.
“Toby was not in a talking mood. He was an emotional wreck when we caught up to him at the funeral home. I think he was drinking, but we didn’t have the will to push him. He is on his way back to Dallas. He told me he was never coming back to Colby.” Morgan said.
“What do we do now?” Roberts asked.
“You go home. I’ll fill the Chief in this afternoon on what we know, which isn’t much. Maybe we will let it lay for a bit.”
“If Toby is taking his son back to Dallas, does that mean none of the local family is gonna be at the funeral?” Roberts asked.
The other two had no answer. Mike decided he wanted to try and talk to George by himself, Morgan did not think that was a good idea. He would know by now that it was Mike who shot his grandson and he might not be very friendly. Mike didn’t think he had been friendly since this whole thing happened.
“We should try one last thing. The boy from this morning. Lydia’s brother? You two go talk to Christine again. Find out why the kids are staying with an old man and a sick woman.”
Mike shook his head, “I don’t care to ever see Christine Parks again in my life. She’s a scumbag who I have no use for after this morning.”
“One more time won’t kill you. Now go on, the both of you and let me know something.”
Mike wanted to let the Captain know something right then but deciding that would not help his situation he left the office with Roberts following. In the parking lot he told her to go home like the Captain said. He would handle Parks alone. Roberts refused.
“I’m here, I might as well go with you to keep you from strangling this girl.” She laughed. He didn’t.
In the car on the drive to Christine’s house Roberts phone rang. She looked at the call screen and then answered.
“Hello?”
There was a pause as she listened.
“He’s here…. I’ll tell him…..Yes sir.” She closed her phone.
“Do you not have a cellphone?” She asked.
“I forgot it at the house. Why?”
Mike looked at her waiting on the message. She took her time, then smiled.
“Grand Jury is a no bill, Mike. Chief just got the word from the Ranger I can’t remember the name Chief said.”
Mike felt a rush of emotion as his eyes welled with tears. He did not want to cry in front of Roberts, though he did want to cry. No bill meant the Grand Jury believed as he did, that he acted properly, and reasonably believed he thought he was in danger in the alley. They would not indict on the shooting. So, it was over, he was cleared of any wrongdoing.
Roberts touched his leg and said something Mike did not understand. In part because he was trying to not cry like a baby and partly because of the electric charge he felt when Amy touched his leg. Since when was he attracted to Amy Roberts he thought. Shaking it off.
Roberts drove around for an extra thirty minutes in order to let Mike compose himself. He appreciated that and told her so as they pulled in front of the single wide trailer house of Christine Parks. He was just here this morning, but it seemed like days ago he thought.
Christine mus
t have heard them pull up because she came outside as they were getting out.
She was still wearing the same clothes only this time her flip flops were on her feet. Mikes’ anger came back to the surface, he pushed it down and told himself to stay calm. Roberts was first to speak.
“Miss Parks? I’m Officer Roberts. I don’t think we have ever met.”
“Reason we should have?” She said as she spit. Mike saw the brown juice hit the ground and realized she was dipping tobacco. He silently gagged.
“No. Just I met your two kids today. I’m just trying to be friendly.”
“Two kids?” Christine asked, spitting the wad of snuff out of her mouth onto the ground. Mike had to look away.
“Lydia and her brother? I met them at your dad’s house.”
“Oh, yeah. That’s her cousin. How can I help you?”
“Lydia told us that he was her brother, Christine. I think she would know if that’s her cousin or not, wouldn’t she?” Mike asked, he was irritated and short tempered with Christine. On the surface her words made sense to him but despite that he could sense something was wrong but didn’t know what.
“Damn, you people ain’t gonna be happy with nothing, are you? This is twice you been to my house today. I think you would have had enough after insulting me this morning, but no, here you are again this time with back up.” Parks’ anger at Mike was over-whelming and she was on the verge of tears, which she held back with a deep inhale of breath.
“I just want to know the truth. That’s all.” Mike said.
“You want to know the truth about family Parks, go talk to Elizabeth. She can tell you anything you want to know. Don’t come back on my property unless you have a warrant.” She went up the steps into the house slamming the door hard. Mike thought he could hear her crying.
Family Secrets Page 5