Jack stiffened. “No. It’s Two Point.” His hand gripped the steering wheel tighter.
Kelly looked back and forth between Chandler and Jack. “Two what?”
“Chandler thought that guy across the street was J-Dog,” Makayla explained. “But it’s his brother, Two Point.”
“J-Dog and Jack don’t mix,” Chandler said.
Two Point glowered at the Impala. He gave Chandler a curt nod but glared at Jack.
“Looks like Two Point and Jack don’t mix either,” Kelly said, gripping her purse tighter.
Jack took a right.
“I can’t believe Nina is dating him,” Makayla said.
“What?” Chandler turned to her. “Since when?”
“I saw them at the movies last night,” Makayla said. “Then Nina posted all about it on Facebook.” She lifted her hand over her head dramatically. “She likes to announce every detail of her life in real time.”
“Why do they call him Two Point?” Kelly glanced back over her shoulder.
“It’s short for Two Point Oh,” Makayla explained. “His real name is Tommy. He’s a year younger than his brother, Jay—that’s J-Dog’s real name. They look alike and act alike, so people started to call him Jay Two Point Oh, but that nickname’s too long.”
“Do you have a nickname, Jack?” Kelly asked.
“Jackie!” Chandler called out.
“No.” Jack held his hand out like a militant school crossing guard. “Only a few older people call me that now.”
Chandler smiled. “We also call him Jack-O. Jackster. Jack-a-reeno. Crazy Jack.”
Jack shook his head. “Don’t listen to him. It’s just Jack.”
“Oh, oh, oh.” Chandler pounded the seat. “You got a new one yesterday. Super Jack Flash!”
“Super Jack Flash?” Kelly’s voice went high.
“He ran like the Flash and swooped in like Superman.” Chandler stretched his long arms over the seat like a little kid pretending to fly. “And he saved this little old lady’s handbag.”
“You were there too.”
Jack didn’t know whether he broke into a sweat because of embarrassment or because of the way Kelly gazed at him.
Chandler scoffed. “I didn’t do anything. You’re the one who chased the junkie down. He almost got stabbed,” he added dramatically.
Kelly’s eyes widened. “The guy had a knife?”
“It was just a small knife.”
Kelly leaned in so close that her breath lightly touched his neck.
A car horn blared. Jack quickly swerved back into his lane.
“Keep it between the buoys, Captain Jack.” Chandler sat back and broke into a wide grin. “Hey! That’s another one—Captain Jack.”
Jack just shook his head and bathed in the glory of being young and alive on this summer night, in the Impala, joking with friends. And to top it all off, sitting just the space of a wish away from him was a beautiful girl whose hair smelled like water lilies.
They ate at the Burger Hut and then headed over to the bowling alley. Once it became clear that Kelly had no idea how to bowl, Jack offered to get the manager to put up the bumpers for her, but she was a good sport about rolling gutter balls all night. Jack won, and Makayla came in second—a fact Jack planned to rib Chandler about later that night. It was a huge success; Jack and Makayla got along like a house afire, and Kelly, though hopeless as a bowler, proved adept at keeping score and giggling at the guys’ clowning, which won points with Chandler.
When the bowling alley closed and kicked them out at ten o’clock, they headed back to Aunt Haddie’s. Chandler leaned forward in the backseat. “You did great for the first time, Kelly.”
Kelly blew a raspberry. “That was harder than it looks.” She crossed her arms and mock-pouted. “I stank.”
Chandler leaned toward Jack and stage-whispered, “This is the part where you say, ‘No, you didn’t.’”
“You gave it a great try,” Jack said.
Kelly looked taken aback.
Chandler groaned.
“Say she did great,” Makayla said.
“I said it was a great try.”
“That’s not the same,” said Chandler.
“I’m not going to lie and just say she did great.”
“Jack!” Makayla slapped her forehead.
Chandler rubbed his temples. “You’re a real sweet talker with the ladies, bro.”
“Wait a minute.” Jack pulled down the rearview mirror so he could see Chandler. “People lie to each other all the time when they should be honest.” He looked at Kelly. “I’m not doing you any favors by lying to you. What if you picked out a dress that made you look fat?”
Chandler snorted. “You’re digging the hole deeper here.”
“Jack, you’re so wrong.” Makayla leaned up against the back of Kelly’s seat and placed a hand on her shoulder in solidarity.
Kelly nodded.
Chandler raised his hand. “Unanimous.”
“It’s not a vote.” Jack stopped at a red light and put the car in park.
“Jack, we’re at a light,” Chandler pointed out.
“One second.” Jack turned in his seat so he faced Kelly. “I tell the truth. Straight up. Tell me how different this feels.” He cleared his throat. “You did awesome at bowling. Wow. Really good. By the way, you look great, I mean, really great tonight.”
Kelly scowled.
Jack lightly touched the back of her hand. “Or I could tell you the truth, like this. As far as bowling went, you can’t hit the broadside of a barn with a bowling ball. But it doesn’t matter, because I never saw the pins. I couldn’t take my eyes off you.”
Makayla and Kelly both said, “Awww…”
“The light’s green, Romeo,” Chandler said.
Jack put the car back in drive. He glanced at Kelly. “I’d rather you know that I’ll tell you the truth no matter what. I want to be a guy people can trust.”
Kelly smiled. “You’re right. I like it better when you tell me the truth. I change my vote.”
“Me too!” Makayla raised her hand. She sat back, crossed her arms, and frowned at Chandler.
“What?”
“You could say something like that to me.”
“How? You beat me.” Chandler made a face. “But I still did awesome.” He pointed at himself. “I got three strikes in a row.” Chandler flexed his arm.
“And at least ten gutter balls,” Jack pointed out.
“Oh, now we’ll just have to check the replays for that statistic, folks. Anyway, I’m going to give Makayla a sincere compliment now.” He leaned against Makayla to whisper in her ear.
She giggled and wrapped her arms around him.
They cuddled in the backseat and Jack took the turn onto Aunt Haddie’s street. Jack started telling Kelly a story about another bowling night, but his voice trailed off at the unnerving sight of red and blue police lights flashing off the houses.
He sped up. Four doors down from Aunt Haddie’s, three police cruisers were parked with their lights on. A small crowd had gathered on the street, and a news van with a satellite pole fully extended was parked on the grass of one of the vacant lots.
“What do you think’s going down?” Chandler asked.
Jack pulled up to Aunt Haddie’s. “I don’t know. The cops are at the Martins’.”
As they got out of the car, Aunt Haddie’s door flew open, and Michelle and four foster kids scrambled out. Michelle ran over to Jack and Chandler.
“What’s going on, kid?” Jack asked Michelle.
She shrugged. “No clue.”
Aunt Haddie appeared in the doorway and called out, “Michelle!”
“Yes, ma’am?”
“Get inside. Everyone get inside.” Like a mother hen gathering her chicks, Aunt Haddie scooted her rubbernecking charges back into the house.
“I’m gonna check it out,” Jack said.
“Chandler and Jackie.” Aunt Haddie’s voice rose. “You, too. Inside
. Right now.”
Chandler and Makayla followed Michelle up the back steps, but Jack grabbed Kelly by the hand and hurried toward the police lights.
Aunt Haddie motioned him to come over. “Jackie!”
Jack gave her a quick wave and then cupped his hand to his ear like he couldn’t hear her. He caught the change in her expression but kept going.
I’m going to get it for this.
Jack and Kelly waded through the circle of people until they stood beside a short, plump girl Jack knew. “What’s going on, Shawna?”
Shawna shook her head back and forth, the beads on the ends of her braided hair clinking together. “There’re a dozen cops inside and a few suits. They’ve been in there almost an hour.”
“Why?”
Shawna shrugged. “No clue.”
“Two Point must’ve really stepped in it this time,” Jack said.
“Then he’s toast,” Shawna said. “He’s still on probation.”
The TV crew flooded the sidewalk with light, and a news reporter walked in front of the camera. When he gestured to the small crowd, the camera panned, capturing the onlookers. Jack wrapped a protective arm around Kelly as the crowd shifted around them.
The front door of the Martins’ house opened. The cameraman swung the lens around as the crowd pushed forward. Two policemen emerged, each carrying a large, clear plastic evidence bag. Inside one was a white jacket with red stripes. The other held white, high-top basketball shoes. J-Dog followed next, in handcuffs, with Detective Vargas close behind him.
“It’s J-Dog they’re arresting?” Jack blurted out. “I thought he’d gone straight.”
Shawna made a snapping sound with her lower lip. “I didn’t see that coming.”
J-Dog’s mother appeared in the doorway, crying. Jack couldn’t hear what was being said, but he could tell she was begging.
Detective Vargas, a restraining hand on J-Dog’s shoulder, shook his head as he walked down the steps.
J-Dog’s eyes searched the crowd. Jack saw despair hidden beneath the tough-guy mask. His shoulders slumped as he got in the car.
“It’s never good when the suits show up,” Shawna said. “He’s so screwed.”
“Let’s get out of here,” Jack said. He took Kelly by the hand and led her through the crowd back toward the car. But before they reached it, Michelle popped out of the house and rushed over.
“What happened?”
“They arrested J-Dog. Where’s Chandler?”
“He’s getting an earful about how irresponsible you are.” Michelle snickered. “I’d beat feet unless you want a big talking-to.”
Jack held up his hands. “You’d better get inside, Half-Pint. Tell him to call me.”
She nodded, waved, and ran around to the back door.
Jack and Kelly hopped in the Impala just as the police car drove by with J-Dog in the back, his head in his hands.
“Are you friends with the guy who got arrested?” Kelly asked.
“Friends? With J-Dog? No. Never. I can’t stand him.”
“Didn’t you grow up with him?”
“Yeah.” Jack watched as the cruiser drove away. “And we didn’t like each other then, either. He always rubbed me the wrong way. We’re like oil and water.”
Kelly nodded.
“After I got adopted and moved, I heard he got worse. Jay turned into J-Dog and he deserved the nickname. He’s as mean and crazy as a junkyard dog.” Jack rolled down his window. “His mother’s real nice, though. Seeing her crying like that…”
“I’m sorry.”
“Me too.”
“Where do you want to go now?” Kelly asked.
Jack glanced at the clock. 10:44 p.m. “How late can you stay out?”
“One.”
Thanks, Dad.
Jack racked his brain for someplace else to go. The list of places in Fairfield where a seventeen-year-old could go at eleven o’clock at night consisted of a couple of convenience stores, the laundromat, and the Waffle House. Or…
“There’s a little park that overlooks the bay on the way to your house,” Jack said. “It has a great view.”
Kelly’s face lit up. “That sounds awesome.”
Jack pulled out and drove fast.
Bay View Park was popular with runners because it sat on a wide plateau. It was also popular with kids who wanted privacy, because the parking lot was shielded by trees and the police visited infrequently.
Tonight the parking lot was empty.
Jack eased the Impala into a spot away from the streetlights and turned off the car.
Kelly’s hand shot out and clicked her seat belt release. She turned to Jack but suddenly frowned.
“What’s wrong?”
“Nothing.” Her eyes shifted down, and her finger traced an invisible outline on the seat. “Did you really mean all that?”
Jack’s mind raced as he tried to figure out what “all that” could be. He reached his hand along the back of the seat and lowered his voice. “All that?” he repeated, hoping for clarification.
Her cheeks flushed. “About not being able to keep your eyes off me because…” Her pearl-white teeth bit her bottom lip.
“Because you looked so beautiful?”
She slowly nodded.
Jack stroked the back of her hand. “Yeah. I meant all that.”
A stray strand of hair fell across her cheek. Jack reached over and tucked it behind her ear.
She leaned closer.
So did Jack.
He slid his hand behind her head. Kelly’s lips pressed together. Jack leaned in, pulled her close, and kissed her. A tender, gentle kiss.
When he pulled back, Kelly’s big blue eyes were peering out from under her lashes. “Wow. I didn’t expect that.”
Jack grinned.
She looked up longingly. “Only one?”
Jack leaned in again and let her take the lead this time. She pressed her soft lips to his, and this kiss lasted longer. Jack stroked her cheek lightly with his thumb. With each touch, the tension between them slipped away.
Kelly’s hand glided along Jack’s arm. She traced his hand and stopped at the rough scar that circled his wrist. He pulled his hand away.
“How’d you get that?”
Jack stiffened. “It’s nothing.”
“I thought you always told the truth.”
Jack sat back in his seat, rolled his head away, and stared out the window. “You don’t want to hear it.”
Kelly’s fingers reached out for his hand. “I do.” Her voice was soft.
Jack exhaled.
Kelly tilted her head and waited.
Jack was honest to a fault, if that’s possible, but right now he wanted to lie. Something inside screamed, Pretend you were joking. Say you just cut yourself on a can, or fixing a bike—anything but the truth. Another part of him wanted to share what really happened.
Jack took a deep breath. He wanted her to know about his past, and not run in the other direction. He turned to face her. “Before I came to Aunt Haddie’s,” Jack said, “I stayed in some pretty bad places.”
“Foster homes?”
“No.” Jack reached out and put a hand on the steering wheel. “No. Before that. Motels that rent by the hour, crackhouses, whorehouses. Places like that.”
Kelly smiled awkwardly as she waited for the punch line that wouldn’t come.
She has no idea. He’d have to ease in. “Okay, when I was little, I loved the show Cops. You ever seen it?”
She shook her head.
“I thought cops were the best. One night, there was this party going on with druggies and prostitutes. I was alone in the kitchen. It was one of those galley kitchens.” Jack pulled his hands apart as if he were stretching taffy. “Like one narrow hallway with a stove, a sink, and a little window at the end.”
Kelly nodded.
“Well, I was looking out the window when some cop pulled over a car on the street below. It was just like the show. I got so exci
ted, I ran into the party and yelled, ‘COPS!’”
Kelly just kept her eyes glued to him.
“I wanted them to come look with me, but the druggies went nuts. Everyone freaked and ran for the door. At the time, I thought it was funny. So… after everyone had calmed down, I did it again. I yelled ‘COPS!’ and they started running for the door again.”
Kelly moved closer.
“Then this ghoulish-looking guy came over to me and asked, ‘Do you want to play cops and robbers, kid?’ I never had anyone to hang with. So when someone finally asked, I was all excited. He took me into the kitchen and pulled out a set of handcuffs. Real ones. I wanted to be the cop, but he told me that I was going to be the robber. I just wanted to play with someone. Anyway, the guy cuffed me to the radiator. One of those old bare-metal types. It didn’t take long to figure out he wasn’t coming back anytime soon.”
“That’s horrible.” Kelly’s fingers traced the scar. “But how did you get the scar?”
The memory of that sensation hit Jack like a Mack truck. “It was winter. It got cold out, and the radiator came on.”
Kelly’s fingers stopped moving.
“They were metal cuffs. That old radiator got as hot as a blast furnace and the heat traveled straight through the chain to the metal cuff. Burned my skin.” He inhaled. “Seared it.”
“Oh, Jack.”
He exhaled. “I finally figured out how to pull my shirt over my head and then down my arm. I tucked it between the cuffs and my skin.”
Kelly’s eyes glistened with tears.
Jack clicked his tongue. “He put the cuffs on me at two minutes past midnight. There was a clock on the stove. Candi, she was a hooker at the party, she found me at eleven twenty-two.”
“You spent all night chained in the kitchen?”
Jack shrugged and looked up at the roof.
“How old were you?”
“Five.”
“Who was watching you?”
“She was passed out in the next room, too.”
“Who’s she?”
Jack’s hand tightened around the steering wheel. “The lady who gave birth to me.”
“Your mom? She was there?”
Jack peered out the window at the trees silhouetted against the night sky. “That was home. For that week anyway.”
“But you said the party was all druggies and prostitutes. Why would your mother have people like that over?” Kelly’s question faded into awkward silence.
Detective Jack Stratton Box Set Page 55