by Steven Hunt
“But how will you know it’s the same locket?”
Yebo looked away. She glanced around the park before turning to him. “Last night I had a terrible feeling. It was evil, cold. I don’t know if my feelings were because of the man or the locket. All I know is your meeting with him could be treacherous so be very careful.” She touched his shoulder as tears pooled in her eyes. “I dreamed of the locket last night, and I have an image of it burned into my brain.”
“How can you be certain the man still has the locket?”
“He has it. I know because Christine told me, and I trust her. For some reason this crime affected him unlike his other ones. The tears and sadness of that little girl touched his heart. He hasn’t let the locket out of his sight since.”
“I assume the plan is to return the locket to the little girl. So how do I find her?”
“I never said you were going to give it back, buddy boy. I need you just to get it from him. One step at a time, Teddy, one step at a time.”
As he rubbed his chin, his mind searched for a plan. “Well, I supposed I could buy it from him…but I don’t have much money. At least not enough to buy something someone sees as valuable. I can’t steal it—that’s just wrong.” He looked at her. “Do you have any suggestions? I mean, this man has held on to this locket for thirty-five years.”
“You’ll figure it out. Now you’d better get going. There’s another chance of snow tonight and he won’t be there all day.”
“You can predict the weather now?”
Yebo smiled. “No. There is a weather board in the community center. People who live on the street need to know when the temperature is expected to be too cold or too hot to be outside. It becomes a life or death issue. When that happens, we sleep at the shelter.” She nodded in the direction of the market. “You’d better get going.”
“Wait! I need more information.”
“You have everything you need right here.” She touched his chest over his heart.
****
The town’s market area consisted of a large patch of manicured, brown grass closely guarded by several bronze and marble statutes of famous soldiers from the Civil War. The courthouse and City Hall bordered the square on one side while businesses and shops adorned the other. The buildings were a perfect fit for the Civil War era sporting gray stone buildings with four spherical pillars supporting second floor porches. The entire market area could have been the movie set for Gone with the Wind.
As Teddy stood on the courthouse steps, he spotted Jackson’s statue across the park. Jackson, sitting on his rearing horse, faced away from the center of the square as if prepared to defend his turf.
Teddy surveyed the other eight statutes as he walked to Jackson. No preference to either the North or the South, he passed Ulysses S. Grant, George McClellan, Ambrose Burnside, Jefferson Davis, Robert E. Lee, James Longstreet, and Winfield Scott Hancock. A lover of all things Civil War, he wished he’d had more time to explore the statues, but the lack of adequate time held him on task. Yebo made it clear that without the locket he’d fail the lesson of hope.
The thief—as Teddy had come to think of this man—sat where Yebo said he’d be. Watching him, it became obvious to Teddy that the years of paranoia had left its scars on the man. Teddy watched as he swiveled his head to either side as if monitoring a tennis match at Wimbledon while inspecting every pedestrian that walked passed. His head jerked left, then right, before starting the process over.
This thief appeared not only mentally unstable; he was huge. Not a good combination.
Teddy backtracked from the Jackson statue, returning to the courthouse. He was certain the man held him under his watchful eye so Teddy neither looked over his shoulder, nor quickened or slowed his pace. He tugged the collar of his jacket closed as the cold north wind increased. Gray clouds had blown in, devouring the sunlight.
Teddy strolled to a coffee vendor on the courthouse steps. The vendor, a young, Hispanic man winked and smiled as he approached.
The vendor wore a vivid, starched apron of pink and white.
Another coincidence? Had to be. Why would one of Christy’s clan be pushing coffee and bagels on the courthouse’s steps?
“Good morning.” The vendor’s smile widened.
“Morning. Two coffees, please.” Teddy held up two fingers.
“It’s a beautiful day, is it not?” The vendor poured piping hot liquid into two Styrofoam cups.
Did the vendor not see the same sky he saw? “I guess so.” A faint scent of peaches and lilacs wafted by his nose. Teddy spun around, searching for Christy.
“Is there something wrong, sir?”
Teddy’s eyes darted. “Do you smell that?”
“Smell what, sir?”
He stopped, facing the vendor. “Ah…nothing. Must be my imagination.”
The vendor snapped lids on the cups before sitting them on the edge of the cart. “Your desired offerings, sir.”
“My what?”
“I was just commenting on how something simple as a cup of coffee could be used as an offering to open doors—if one’s heart is in the right place.”
Teddy nodded as he fished two dollars from his pocket.
The vendor waved his hand. “That is OK. It is on the house.”
“No, I can pay.”
“Please. Do not take this blessing from me.”
“If you insist…”
“I do. Have a great day, mister.”
Walking with a sense of purpose, Teddy crossed the park while being careful to not spill his offerings. As the distance narrowed, an uneasy feeling churned in the pit of his stomach. A flock of birds could not have stirred his gut as much. He wasn’t sure if he was nervous or if the feeling stemmed from the potential threat.
The thief, who appeared to be in his late fifties, wore a ripped and grime-covered fatigue jacket. He rocked forward on the balls of his feet as if to pounce at some unseen prey. Teddy hesitated as his heart rammed against his chest. Seeing the thief’s huge frame up close had Teddy rethinking if the lesson was worth the risk. The thief could easily pulverize him. The pain would be unbearable.
Stop thinking like that, he thought. You’re forming excuses again. Remember why you’re doing this—to rejoin Jane and Mandy. The Truth will care for you. Inhaling a deep breath, Teddy forced himself to calm.
Teddy scrutinized the thief’s appearance. His unruly, salt and pepper hair and elongated face reminded Teddy of one of the Muppets—which one he could not remember. A very large Beaker, maybe?
When Teddy finally approached, the man leaned back, falling against the base of the statue while releasing a loud sigh.
“Hi there.” Teddy called. He needed to sound calm and cheerful, even if his heart continued to flip flop.
The man’s head jerked in Teddy’s direction. His face contorted in an immediate display of anger and challenge. His eyes narrowed as his entire forehead creased. “Who’re you? What’d ya want?” His words growled. Keeping his eyes locked on Teddy, he rose to his feet. Teddy guessed the man stood over six feet, eight inches and weighed close to three hundred pounds. By his appearance Teddy guessed he lived a homeless lifestyle and that type of living had kept him in relatively good shape. He didn’t wear any excessive pounds on his large frame, but rather sported muscles that flexed under his tattered clothes. Reading his body language, the thief didn’t have peace on his mind, but slaughter.
Clinging to an ultrathin thread of hope, Teddy stared into brown eyes. Surprisingly, he didn’t see anger. The thief’s brows had turned upward and deep wrinkles had formed at the edge of his eyes. Teddy saw uncertainness and a lack of confidence. Possibly an element of fear.
“I’m just a friend who thought you could use a cup of coffee,” Teddy said, hoping his smile would ease the tension. He held out one of the cups.
“I can’t afford no coffee, man.”
“I’m not asking for anything. Just want to be nice.”
He looked Teddy up a
nd down. “No strings attached?”
After Teddy shook his head, the man reached for the cup. “Much obliged.” he mumbled as he slid down the base of Jackson to the sidewalk, dismissing Teddy. He ripped the plastic lid off before taking a sip.
Teddy swallowed hard as he sat next him, but left plenty of room separating them. From what he’d seen, this guy could snap at any moment. Teddy might need the extra space for a quick getaway if this didn’t go well.
“So, what’s your name?” Teddy asked careful to not stare.
The thief kept his head down and his gaze fixed on the ground. “Jason.” His gruffness disappeared.
“Hello, Jason. I’m Teddy.” Teddy held out his hand. Jason ignored it.
“So what brings you to—” A sudden rush of panic filled Teddy’s mind. He didn’t know the name of the town! Neither Christy nor Yebo had told him. “—town?”
“I dunno. Just got this feelin’ I was supposed to come here, I guess. Kinda like someone told me to come, ya know.” Jason’s deep voice rumbled through Teddy’s body.
“A feeling, huh?”
“Yeah. You ever get one of those?”
Teddy smiled. If only the big man knew what Teddy had been through the past few days. “Yeah, sometimes.”
“Hey, thanks for the coffee.” Jason raised his cup. “I’d better get going.” He placed it on the sidewalk before shifting his massive body to his knees.
“What’s your rush? I mean, I’d like to know more about this feeling you’ve had.” He may have sounded calm, but the birds in his stomach continued to fly loop-the-loops.
Jason looked around. “Well, I guess I can stay a little longer.” He eased back against the base and picked up his coffee.
“So, tell me more.”
“’Bout what?”
“Aw, come on, Jason. How am I ever going to be your friend if you hold back?” Teddy sensed the thief lived in a fragile world, and he’d have to give something to get something back. Quid pro quo. Offering to be his friend had been a good start.
Jason looked at him with wide eyes. “You wanna be my friend?”
“Well, sure. Don’t you want to be friends?”
“I’ve never had a friend before. At least not a true one.”
Teddy set his cup on the ground. He turned where he could see Jason’s entire face without straining. “I want to be your true friend.” Teddy hated lying to him. But was he really lying? Sure Jason had problems, but who didn’t? Only days ago hadn’t he tried to kill himself? If it hadn’t been for his problems, he wouldn’t be here now, sitting on a sidewalk underneath Jackson, in a nameless town, talking to a thief who probably had just as many troubles as he had, if not more.
Teddy’s life had evolved from a suicide attempt and a selfish attitude to actually feeling sympathy for another person. While Teddy’s recent life had traversed a rocky road, it was still better than the trail Jason must have been traveling.
The corners of Jason’s lips turned up. “I’d like a friend.” He sounded like a five-year-old on his first day at a new playground. Teddy waited for Jason to giggle and suggest they play a game of tag. “But I haven’t lived my life very well. To be honest, my life’s been terrible. I’ve done some very bad things, man.”
“All of us have done things in our lives that we’re not proud of.”
Jason shook his head. “Not like these. I’ve done unforgiveable things.”
“Nothing is unforgiveable. What kind of things?”
Jason looked into his cup. “I’ve robbed folks. I’ve sold drugs to kids. I’ve stolen identities and used them to steal life savings.” He glanced at Teddy before returning his gaze to the coffee in his cup. “But the worst is the one that haunts me the most.”
“What’s that?” Murder, Teddy answered in his mind.
“The one crime that I wish I could take back. The one that ruined my life.” Jason sighed as he placed his cup on the sidewalk next to him. “I shouldn’t say nothin’. I don’t know you, man. You could be a cop.”
“I’m not the police, Jason. I’m only a new friend who’s concerned for you.”
“I don’t know, man.”
“How can I help if I don’t know what’s bothering you?”
Jason looked Teddy in the eyes. “You swear you’re not a cop?”
Teddy nodded. “Far from it. And a friend wouldn’t lie, would he?”
Jason looked away. “I don’t know.”
“Look, Jason, I don’t want to pressure you, but this seems to be weighing heavily on you. I’m just a guy who’s a good listener if you want to talk. OK?”
Jason sighed. As he stretched his neck, the audible cracking of his vertebras hung in the air.
Teddy had been so focused on Jason he hadn’t noticed anyone outside their little world. Looking around, he saw people bundled up against the cold as they strolled through the monuments and outside the shops. They maintained a safe distance from the demented-looking Jason.
Jason cleared his throat. “A long time ago, I broke into a house thinking it would be just another simple burglary. You know, a quick breakin. Grab some goods for cash. TVs, jewelry, and whatever else I could haul away without being too conspicuous. All my life I’ve been broke and that night wasn’t any different. I didn’t have any money and I was starving. My hunger drove me to break into the house without scouting it first. But I made a mistake. I must have made too much noise. You know, it’s not easy for a man my size to do that type of work.” Jason dropped his head for a few moments before continuing, “When a man and woman came down the stairs they startled me. Now I don’t like guns, and I normally didn’t take one with me, but for some reason, I had one that night. They weren’t supposed to be there, man! I didn’t mean it, ya know?”
Jason cupped his head into his hands. “Why did they come down the stairs? Why, man?”
Teddy wanted to place his hand on big man’s shoulder, but he didn’t know how Jason would react. “What happened, Jason? Did you shoot them?”
He nodded. When he raised his head, Teddy saw that he’d been crying. “I didn’t mean it, man. I really didn’t! After I saw all the blood, I heard the woman moaning. I’d only shot her once. I didn’t want to kill her, just stop her. So I shot her in the hip. As she lay on the floor, she stared at her husband. I knew he was dead. I figured that’s why she was moaning, ya know. ‘Cause her husband had died in front of her.
“I wanted to run—to get away—but for some reason I ran up the stairs instead. I knew I was in trouble, but a part of me—the criminal part—told me to not leave any witnesses, so I had to check the rest of the house. I’m a thief, man, not a killer! Why’d they have to come down them stairs?” He stared into the distance as his voice grew quiet. He sighed before continuing, “There was a little girl sitting on the floor in one of the bedrooms. She was hugging one of them stuffed animals like you win at the carnival—I think it was a bear. She hugged it so tight I thought the stuffin’ would pop out. She was trying to protect that bear as best as she could by clutching him close to her. Why, I don’t know. I mean, it was only a stuffed toy. I can still see her face in my mind, man. It’s like she’s haunting me for what I did. She didn’t look at me with fear or anger, but with—” He shook his head. “—disappointment. I don’t know how I know this, but I do.”
He looked at Teddy. “I pointed the gun at her and pulled the trigger.”
24
Teddy gasped. He tried to erase the thought of a young child being murdered, but it lingered nonetheless. In his mind the little girl’s face morphed into the face of his daughter. He could see Mandy sitting on the floor, holding one of her favorite stuffed lambs, facing this murderer. He watched as she cried for her daddy while Jason aimed his pistol. The image exploded in a bright light with the blast of the gun.
Teddy jumped. His heart raced. He pressed his balled fists into his clenched eyes as he beseeched his mind to return to the image. He had to save Mandy. He didn’t know what he could do, but he had to
do something.
Hopeless, he opened his eyes, returning to the present. Jason’s month’s worth of odor assaulted his nose as the frigid wind stung his eyes. His mind reassured him the image had not been real.
But it had felt real enough for him to panic. To double his heart rate.
Examining the man sitting next to him, he saw tears flowing down Jason’s leathery cheeks. The big man’s ability to show his remorse through crying softened Teddy’s anger and touched his heart. Rage still burned within him, just not as hot.
“But I couldn’t do it.” Jason continued. “I couldn’t kill her. I tried, but something happened that changed everything. I’d already ruined her life by shooting her parents, so what was the point of doing more harm? For the first time in my life I felt sorry for someone. The price of my crime was grief. When I looked into her small, pleading eyes my heart ripped into two. I knew I had to get out of there while I still could so I snatched a locket from around her little neck and ran.”
Teddy felt ill. It could have been the rapid influx of adrenalin that had dumped into his system or it could have been dread at having to ask his next question. He didn’t know which. His dry throat croaked out the words, “What happened to her? The girl? Was she hurt? Did you shoot her?”
Jason ran a rough hand over his eyes. “No. Remember I said something happened? I tried, but the gun just clicked. It misfired. ” Jason looked away.
He snatched his cup from the sidewalk and gulped his coffee. “I’m not sure what happened to her after that. I told her to not go downstairs, but she did anyway. I know ’cause I heard her screaming after I left the house.” He placed his hands over his ears while rocking his bulky frame. “I stood on the porch listening to her tiny wail. I can still hear her screams in my head.” He dropped his hands, his eyes staring at nothing. “I felt so bad, man. I don’t know why ’cause I never felt like that before. It wasn’t much, but I kept watch on the house for as long as I could. I know it sounds funny, but I didn’t want nothing else to hurt that little girl. The police showed up—I’d never seen so many police cars in one place. They eventually took her away. I don’t know where.”