Saving Toby

by Suzanne McKenna Link

  “Whatever,” I muttered and turned away from them to face Claudia. “Julia doesn’t need to worry about this. Okay?” I waited for her to confirm that she understood she was to keep this between us.

  She nodded her head.

  “If for some reason I’m not back when you have to leave, you call my aunt. Make up some excuse if you need to.”

  “Don’t worry about anything here,” she assured me. She tried to look tough, but I could tell she was nervous.

  I looked at her face a final time before I followed the cops out the door. I hoped I was coming back. It was obvious that Dev must have done more than just mess around with the guy. It wouldn’t be the first time he’d gone too far.

  When we got to the precinct, I was put into an interrogation room and told a gas station attendant, a man named Ricardo Velerio, had been stabbed and left on the road. Someone found him hours later, but the knife had nicked an organ. The guy was in intensive care. His condition was listed as serious.

  Velerio was unconscious and unable to identify his attackers. What had brought the cops to my door was information from his co-worker, the other gas station attendant. He’d gotten a good look at Ray, Devlin, and I and had noted the car make, model, and license plate along with descriptions of the three of us. He ID’d us and told the cops we’d harassed Velerio earlier that night before the attack.

  A couple of detectives questioned me. I told them I had been out, but because of my sick mother, I was home well before ten o’clock. Claudia would be able to confirm that. They wanted to know my whereabouts prior to arriving home, and where Dev and Ray were going when we parted ways.

  I offered very little, and since they had nothing they could charge me with, they had to let me go. When they dropped me back at the house, they told me that if I ‘remembered’ anything more about that night I should call the detective in charge.

  I puffed a cigarette outside the house, pacing and swearing silently. I dipped out of this town to get a fresh start away from the mess. And I had never looked back. Until Julia got sick. I was here only to take care of her, so what the hell was I doing wasting my time with Dev Van Sloot again?

  Listening to him boast about his shady accomplishments the other night was enough to make me sick. But now, after this? I was so done with Dev.

  Claudia came into the kitchen as I was getting a beer out of the refrigerator.

  “You’re home,” she breathed out. “Are you all right?”

  I twisted the top off the bottle. It would be great to unload some of the burden, but I couldn’t do that to her.

  Instead, I said, “Just some confusion about the other night. But it’s fine. Is Julia awake?”

  “Yes, but she doesn’t know anything.” Claudia stepped closer. “Do you want to talk about it?”

  I snapped the bottle top between my fingers and sent it flying across the room before I turned to face her. I wished I could pull her close like the other night. I would tell her how glad I was that she was here, mostly for taking care of Julia, but for being concerned about me, too. That would be too much too soon.

  “Thanks, but it’s nothing to worry about,” I said, shaking the hair out of my eyes.

  She watched me pensively and bit her bottom lip. The stress of the situation seemed to unite us for a moment, like a gravitational force pulling us towards each other. I admired her mouth and felt myself growing warm. It would be a bad time to make a move on her. I turned away and forced the thought from my head.

  “Why don’t you go? I’m not going anywhere else tonight,” I said, pretending to be interested in the pile of mail on the table.

  “Are you sure?”

  When I looked up, she was standing in exactly the same spot, staring at me. Around her, I didn’t trust the thin control I had over my tongue. She seemed to have a knack for making me reveal stuff.

  “Yeah, go,” I said. Though I really wanted her to stay.

  9. Claudia

  I got home that night and went straight up the stairs to my bedroom. I needed privacy to talk to April about what had happened.

  “The police took Toby to the station,” I said. “We decided not to mention it to Mrs. Faye. We didn’t want to upset her. I’m dying to know, but he wouldn’t tell me either.”

  “I hope it doesn’t have something to do with those trouble-making burnouts he used to hang out with,” April grumbled. “I wouldn’t trust them if my life depended on it.”

  “But you trust him?”

  “Yes, chica, I do. Despite what we all know about his family, and that he was somewhat of a brawling legend in high school, Toby turned out to be a good guy.” She continued, “He has a good relationship with his mother. I think taking care of her kept him grounded, especially when everything with his father and brother was so messed up.”

  “Mrs. Faye is a good person,” I acknowledged.

  “My mother said women from church go over there regularly and help out.”

  Thinking of the revolving presence of church ladies at the Faye house, I smiled. “Yes, they’re surrounded by lots of bighearted people.”

  “It’s nice to know she has help,” April said. “And since Toby came home, he obviously wasn’t charged. No need to worry her about it.”

  “I suppose,” I answered. “Hey, how come I didn’t know you and Toby were friends in high school?”

  “I distinctly remember telling you some years ago that he asked about you. I was surprised that he remembered you, but I guess, like most guys, he was a non-entity to you. You, my dear, were far too busy with your Saint John’s friends raising awareness of the atrocities in Darfur or fundraising for a cure to the AIDS epidemic in Africa to care about cute guys showing interest in you.” April laughed. “I, on the other hand, was busy flirting with all sorts of cute guys over lattes.”

  “You did support local business.”

  She laughed again. “Chica, you can put a positive spin on almost anything.”

  “Put a positive spin on Toby, 'cause I’ll need a line of defense when my dad hears what happened.”

  “He’s actually quite sweet and always easy to talk to,” she said. Suddenly she giggled. “Oh, my God, I just remembered that he and I were voted best eyes in the senior class! He has those eyes that made the girls in school fall over themselves whenever he looked in their direction.”

  “I’m sure my dad will be impressed with that.”

  “Forget your dad. Aren’t you?” she asked. “Mmm, kind of hard to ignore boys with pretty eyes and broad shoulders. And who are good to their mothers. Means they treat their women well—”

  “Stop trying to sell him to me,” I groaned. “If you think he’s so wonderful, how come you never had any romantic interest in him yourself?”

  “Oh, please.” She sighed dramatically. “Toby is cute and all, but you know I never had a thing for pale-skinned guys.”

  “Yes, I know, my beautiful, mocha-skinned friend. No pasties.”

  We both laughed.

  “That party is tomorrow night,” April reminded me. “Do you know if he’s going?”

  “He said he was, but after what happened with the police, who knows?”

  “Well, either way, we should go. The Ryans have crazy money, and I heard Jim hired a live band. It’s going to be absolutely amazing.”

  “Okay,” I agreed. “I’ll go.”

  “Good. Dario has to work, but he said he’d meet us there. We’ll wear our new dresses, and I’ll come over early and do your hair.”

  It came in handy having a hairstylist for a best friend.

  When I hung up, my father still wasn’t home. Short reprieve. I lay in bed wondering what happened with Toby and the police until I heard the car in the driveway. I held my breath.

  “Claudia!” My father bellowed from the bottom of the steps. “Come down here.”

  I crept down the stairs. My father was a formidable figure in his dark blue officer’s uniform. His belt was loaded with gadgets worthy of any crime-fighting sup
erhero.

  “There was an attack on a Dominican man a couple of days ago.” The key ring attached to the belt loop of his uniform jingled as he moved into the kitchen.

  “Wednesday night?”

  “Yes. Between ten and eleven p.m.”

  “Oh. That’s terrible,” I mumbled.

  “They brought that Faye kid in for questioning as well as two others, Van Sloot and Rudack, known friends of his.”

  No wonder Toby didn’t want his mother to know. Thinking he might have been involved in this would devastate her. I looked at my father. “Pete Perelli came to their house while I was there.”

  Dad wasn’t surprised. “The victim is in bad shape. They could be charged with aggravated assault or ethnic intimidation. That means jail time.” Dad shook his head, aggravated. “This is a serious crime. I don’t want you at that house anymore.”

  My mouth dropped open. “But, Dad, Toby wasn’t charged. And personally, I don’t think he had anything to do with it. He came home early that night.”

  “What time was that?”

  I thought back to that night trying to remember exactly when I’d noticed he was home. He’d come inside the house without me hearing him, but I’d seen his bedroom light on. “It must have been just after nine o’clock because he came into the kitchen and kept me company for at least a half hour before I left. I finished at ten.”

  “Did he look like he’d been fighting? Cuts, scrapes, swollen areas?”

  I didn’t recall any telltale signs.

  “No, he was fine.”

  Dad shrugged. “That doesn’t mean he didn’t do it.”

  “What happened to innocent until proven guilty?” I harrumphed.

  “Watch your tone with me, young lady.”

  “Dad, please. You can’t seriously expect me to quit. Mrs. Faye needs me.” I tried to reason more demurely. “Besides, would all those church ladies go over there if it was dangerous?”

  “I’ll only let you keep that job if you agree to check in with me regularly whenever you’re over there,” he said.

  Resigned, I agreed.

  April came over after I got home from Sterling Saturday night. I didn’t dare tell her that after the last few days, I didn’t feel much like going to Jim Ryan’s party. April loved parties. Instead, I was fidgety and cranky as she twisted my long brown hair into ringlets.

  “What’s up with you?” she asked, as she sprayed my hair into place.

  I yawned. “My dad is tightening the noose because of this stuff with Toby and the cops. I’m worried about keeping my job, not to mention what it will do to Mrs. Faye if it turns out Toby’s somehow involved in all of this.”

  “The Toby I know wouldn’t do that.” She handed me the new white dress we had shopped for the week before. “Stop worrying or else you’ll have wrinkles before you even hit thirty. Everything will be fine.”

  “I hope so. I really like Mrs. Faye.” I slipped into the dress, and April zipped me up.

  She stepped back to admire her work in the mirror. “Forget about all that for now. Look at us. We look fan-tas-tic.”

  April looked gorgeous, as usual, with her black hair pinned in a loose knot and her yellow dress setting off her darker skin tone. She had worked her magic with my hair, making it curl softly around my face and shoulders. My white dress with the sheer sleeves accented my light olive complexion and made my eyes look bluer. We did look pretty fabulous.

  Cars lined both sides of the road as April parked her car in front of Jim Ryan’s house. The street was buzzing with throngs of kids walking to the party.

  “We’ll have to keep an eye out for Dario and Toby,” April said, stepping next to me.

  “Dario and Toby are coming together?”

  “Yeah. It’s strange, but Toby called Dario out of the blue. He’s picking Dario up. I told them we’d meet them here.” She hooked her arm through mine and led me through the backyard gate. “Maybe you guys will get together. Then we can double date.”

  I stopped her just inside the yard. “I already told you, I’m not interested.”

  “Fine.” She patted my arm gently like she was calming a cranky spinster. “I’m sure there’ll be a lot of guys here. We’ll find someone for you.”

  “No, thank you. I don’t need anyone.”

  “Mamí, we got to get you to kiss a few frogs so you can find your prince.”

  I rolled my eyes. “You’re such a romantic.”

  I hadn’t seen Jim Ryan in several years, but I remembered his dad was a lawyer with a major firm in Manhattan. This bash would be no typical keg party. The Ryans believed in nothing but the best, and the size of their backyard was no surprise. It was big, wide and thoughtfully landscaped. Several manicured gardens with perfectly scalloped edges and pruned bushes created a winding walkway into the yard. The path opened up into a poolside oasis. A curved, in-ground pool was set into a stone tile area just off the back of the mini mansion the Ryans called a house. It was too cool to swim, but I was sure the pool was heated.

  Many of the partygoers converged into groups around the pool, sipping from red plastic cups. Past the pool, under a white canopy on the other side of the yard, a small band was playing live as a large group of people danced nearby. We stopped on the bricked patio and scanned the crowd for familiar faces.

  Someone grabbed April into a hug. She introduced me, but I couldn’t hear what they were saying. As they continued talking, I saw Toby’s burly friend from the other night. We caught each other’s eye, and he made a beeline for me.

  “Hey, it’s you.”

  Up close, Devlin dwarfed me. There was nothing slight about him. He had a big, square head with a thick neck, a wide nose with nostrils so large, I could see up them. His tightly cropped hair made the expanse of his scarred white forehead appear infinite.

  “I’m real sorry about the other night.” He sounded clogged-up, congested.

  I cleared my own throat, as if that would help his.

  “I’d rather forget it.”

  “Sure, I understand. I’d never do that. But Ray, he can be a dick. Guy’s got no manners.” He was quick to throw his friend under a bus. With one beefy hand wrapped around a plastic beer cup, he held out the other to me. “We never formally met. I’m Devlin.”

  I glanced up at his face trying to judge his sincerity. He had apologized for what happened in front of Toby’s house, and he was trying hard to be friendly. I couldn’t see any real reason to be rude.

  “Claudia,” I said, putting my hand into his expecting to shake. Instead, he put it up to his lips and kissed my knuckles. I pretended to be flattered, but when he released my hand, I covertly wiped my knuckles on the back of my dress.

  “Nice to finally meet you, Claudia.” His smile was slightly askew, and gummy, like his teeth were too small for the size of his mouth.

  He cleared his throat and shuffled uneasily. Feeling kind of sorry for him, I offered another subject.

  “Did you graduate with Toby?”

  He tilted his head. “Yeah, but you didn’t. I’d remember someone as pretty as you.”

  I chose to ignore the compliment. “I went to Saint John the Baptist.”

  “Oh, Catholic school. Does that mean you’re too uptight to have fun?”

  Odd question. “Of course, I like to have fun.”

  “Good. I happen to have a nice fatty in my pocket.” He patted his shirt. “Want to get high?”

  “Gee. Tempting, but no.” I shook my head. This was so not my scene. It was much too painful talking and listening to this guy. Looking for a reason to move on, I glanced over my shoulder and searched the party for the sight of anyone familiar.

  “Have you seen Toby tonight?”

  Devlin’s eyes narrowed. “I knew it. You’re hooking up with him, aren’t you?”

  “No, I’m not,” like a reflex, I answered fast.

  “Cool.” With a rapacious stare, he paused and held up his cup. “I need a refill. Can I get you a beer?”

 
; “No, I don’t drink.”

  “Okay, a soda then,” he offered, and before I could decline again, he walked away.

  I didn’t plan on waiting for him to come back. I grabbed April’s arm and pulled her from her conversation. Wrinkling her nose, she watched Devlin walk away.

  “Trust me, Van Sloot will never be anything more than an ugly toad. Let’s get lost in the crowd.”

  We darted into a group of people and mingled. It was nice catching up with old friends, but it wasn’t long before Devlin returned. He was carrying two red plastic cups when he found us.

  “Here you go, ladies. I got one for you, too, April.” He offered her a cup. April shook her head. “Fine,” he shrugged, turning to me. “Claudia?”

  He grinned at me hopefully, and I honestly felt bad for him. I reached out my hand for the cup, but then suddenly, he pitched forward. Stumbling, soda sloshed over the cups onto his sneakers. April and I backed up.

  “Ah, shit!” He spun around to see who was responsible for bumping into him.

  From out of nowhere, Toby appeared. I smiled for a split second until I saw the angry expression on his face. Without a word, Toby reached forward and, with a quick swipe, sent our drinks tumbling from his friend’s hand. The liquid splashed up when the cups hit the ground. April and I shrieked as it showered our shoes.

  “Faye, what the hell … ?” Devlin eyed Toby.

  Toby made a growling noise. Moving quickly, he got in between Devlin and me.

  “Stay away from her.”

  “Toby, it’s okay.” I touched his arm, unsure why he felt the need to protect me. “We were just talking. He got me a drink. That’s all.”

  Twisting, he acknowledged me with a stony glance. He let out a breath, and his expression softened a bit. “That’s not all. That’s just the beginning.”

  Devlin’s eyes narrowed. “What the fuck are you doing, man?”

  Toby whirled back to Devlin. “What, am I ruining your game tonight?”

  “You are, and it’s starting to piss me off.” His fingers curled into fists. “Pissing me off is always a mistake.”

  “Then leave.”