Alison guffawed. “Listen. I’m willing to ignore the dead Locos in an Italian restaurant. I’m willing to ignore the dead Gatos on Fourth Street. I’m willing to ignore the dead biker outside a condo complex, too—that’s easy. All those guys deserved it, I’m sure. If not for what they did to you, for something else that’s transpired in their miserable past. They’re all lowlifes. Bad men. And they got what was coming to them—a bad end. And I’m even willing to ignore the fact that you disappeared from police custody, twice. Once leaving a dead officer in the front seat—a fact that we still can’t explain.”
He looked at Derek with eyes wide. “And you—I’m willing to forget the little incident in Miller’s hospital room, and forget the time you decided to play garbage can Frisbee during your escape. Want to know why I’m willing to bury this and let it all go?”
A tight knot formed in Emily’s stomach. She looked to Miller, whose eyes had narrowed. He shot a cutting glance at Alison. She realized he didn’t know what was coming, either.
“Ye—yes,” Emily stammered. “I want to know.”
Alison threw his hands up and smirked. “Because, apparently, I’m getting a promotion. How about that? A boost for being a complete and total failure with your case. The mayor himself called me yesterday and made me an offer. An offer he knew I couldn’t refuse. All he’s asking is that I help him make this entire embarrassment go away and get his wife and the media off his back. If I do that, then he’ll make me the next Chief of Detectives. If I refuse, then I’m fired and ruined.”
“What about your ethics?” Miller asked.
“At this point, Millsy, I don’t give a fuck anymore. I’m too old and too tired to care. It’s a losing battle, for all of us. Especially me. I’m the scapegoat here. Sometimes, you just gotta cut bait and run.”
“I guess that’s good news, right, Em?” Miller asked Emily.
“But there’s one catch,” Alison said, pointing at Emily. “The mayor’s wife wants to meet you, assuming of course that we can locate you and bring you in.”
“Me?”
“She wants to meet the Glassford Girl.”
Emily shook her head. “I don’t know about that.”
“Look, do this one thing for me—meet that big-mouth wife of his—and as far as I’m concerned, all of this is over. I’ll make sure all the charges are dropped and your file expunged.”
Emily felt the nausea continue to build in her stomach. The last thing on earth she wanted to do was meet some high-profile politician’s wife. But she didn’t see any way out of it.
“Okay. I guess I can do that. If it’ll make all of this go away, forever. My stuff and Derek’s, right?”
“It will. You have my word on that,” Alison said, sitting back in his chair. “Okay then, I’ll set it up. I’m sure the mayor will be pleased.”
“When?” Jim asked. “I want to be there for support.”
“Me, too,” Derek added.
“Thanks, guys,” Emily said, with warmth for both of them in her heart.
Alison touched Emily’s arm. “Luckily, she left the country today for a couple of weeks on a scheduled humanitarian mission in Africa. So we have some time to plan this. But as soon as she gets back, you’ll need to be available.
“Okay.”
“However, there’s one more thing you need to be aware of. She’s a publicity hound, so expect a room full of cameras and reporters. It’ll be a complete circus.”
Emily gulped.
CHAPTER FORTY-SEVEN
Emily looked up when Mr. Thomas walked into the kitchen. She was across the table from Derek, eating leftover spaghetti that she’d found in the refrigerator. Derek was eating a bowl of chicken soup she’d found in a cabinet and heated up. When she saw Mr. Thomas, she smiled; to her, he looked like a big, awkward bird. He peered at them with his curious eyes.
“Okay you two,” he said. “Five minutes. Then I’m driving you to the shelter, as I promised the detective and your friend, Jim.”
“Okay.” Emily replied. “What time may I come back tomorrow morning?”
“Not before seven.”
“Got it. Thanks.”
Mr. Thomas grabbed a banana from the bowl of fruit sitting on the counter, then walked out of the kitchen. Emily watched Derek eat his soup. He was taking one spoonful at a time, slurping like a five-year-old. When he opened his mouth too wide, he winced.
Nora was right, she thought—it looked like Derek had a painful couple of days ahead of him.
But Emily’s situation was worse. Confusion and doubt were ruling her insides, especially when it came to the impending meeting with the mayor’s wife. She’d made a promise to Alison, but she was scared to death of what was about to come. Deep down, she knew her life would never be the same now that the national media was fully vested in her case. Every time she ran through her options, only one answer came out—jump far enough into the future that nobody would remember her. It was the only way out, but that would mean leaving Derek and her support group behind.
“So what do you think?” Emily asked, hoping Derek had some insight. Maybe she was missing something.
“About?”
“You know, Miller. Alison. Getting beat up. That kinda stuff.”
“I think you mean—the mayor’s wife,” he added.
“Okay, yeah, her. I’m not sure I can go through with it.”
“Babe, I don’t think you have a choice at this point. You heard Alison. This is too big now.”
“I know. But what if I say the wrong thing? She’ll totally hate me.”
“Actually, from the sounds of it, the whole world would hate you.”
She gasped, thinking about all the people who would be watching her. Judging her. “How am I going to do this? The whole world?”
“Yeah, it’s going to be epic.”
She rolled her eyes at him. “You’re not helping.”
He smirked, then shrugged. “Maybe you can put her off somehow. After all, people do get sick. That’s what I’d do. Make something up at the last minute.”
“Maybe,” she said, searching her soul for answers. She came up dry. She couldn’t think about it anymore. “So what about Miller? Do you trust him?”
“I think Miller is legit. Alison—not so much. I mean, he’s willing to forget about stuff, but it’s not like he’s doing us any favors. He’s doing it to get his boss off his ass.”
“And get a promotion.”
“That, too. And doing it because of Miller. That’s another reason I think you should trust Miller. He convinced Alison to back off. That couldn’t have been easy.”
“I think you’re right. About them both.”
“And by the way, getting beat up sucks. Let me say, I’m not a fan.”
“You’re gonna look like a badass with a black eye, though.” She scooted her chair around the table, closer to him, then traced her finger up his cheek and over his eye. “Let me get you some ice.”
She found a Ziploc bag in a drawer and filled it with ice cubes from the freezer while Derek finished his soup. She took the bowl from him and put it in the sink, then handed him the bag of ice.
“Hold this to your eye, babe. It will help with the swelling, and it should take some of the pain away, too.”
“Thanks. Em, I—” he said, pausing. “I’m not used to people helping me. Are you really going to come back tomorrow?”
“Yes, I really am. Why are you asking? You know I’ll be here.”
His voice slowed and lost its exuberance. “Just thought you might wanna disappear again. Make all of this mayor crap go away. Forever.”
“Truth is, I thought about it. But you know I can’t control it like that. It just happens. Even if I could, I’m not taking the easy way out. No. It’s time to face this.”
He nodded, adjusting the bag of ice on his face. “Just so you know, I wouldn’t blame you if you did.”
She leaned around in front of him and kissed him hard on the lips. “This is where I
want to be. Right here. Right now. With you. I’m not going anywhere. Got it, mister?”
Mr. Thomas appeared in the doorway and announced, “Time to get you home, umm, Ms.—?”
“Emily,” she said, hugging Derek. He winced. She let go. “Sorry. I forgot.”
“Yes, Emily. Sorry. I’m terrible with names.”
She walked and stood by Thomas. “Just call me Red. Lots of people do.”
“Will you be here tomorrow?”
“Count on it!” she snapped, looking at Derek to make sure he felt the sincerity in her statement. The look on his face indicated he did.
Thomas took a set of keys from his pocket. “Time to rock. My car’s parked just up the street.”
Emily gave Derek one last look and blew him a kiss.
* * *
Emily stood on the sidewalk across the street from the shelter and watched Mr. Thomas drive off in his compact Toyota truck that was missing all four hubcaps. Some of the lettering on the tailgate was missing, leaving the remaining characters to spell YOTA.
She was excited to see Junie. Even though it hadn’t been a full day, she missed her friend’s infectious smile and bright, innocent eyes. She was about to cross the street when two police cars came roaring around corner with their lights on, but no sirens. Emily stepped back and hid in the shadow of a tree behind her.
The squad cars came to an abrupt stop in front of the shelter, and two officers from each vehicle shot out and tore through the shelter’s front door. Emily’s heart screamed at her to run inside to check on Junie, but her logic told her to wait. Even though Alison had said he’d make everything go away, it was possible the cops were looking for her. It could have all been a ruse to defuse Jim. Or, perhaps the mayor might have changed his mind. Either way, she needed to wait to see what happened next.
It wasn’t long before there was activity. Her heart nearly leapt out of her chest when she saw Junie’s mom in handcuffs, being hauled out of the shelter and down the steps by two of the four cops that had entered the facility. Then Junie appeared at the top of the stairs in her pajamas, being held by two men in street clothes.
Junie’s eyes were not bright; tears streamed from them. Her mouth was not turned up in a huge smile; she was yelling and crying. Emily could hear her from across the street.
“Don’t take her, please! She’s my mom! Please!” Junie screamed at the cops. She fought to escape the men holding her back, but she wasn’t strong enough to break free.
Emily started to cry, too, knowing the pain her friend was in. It was difficult to watch the scene unfold in front of her—a precious little girl frantic and crying. Cops manhandling her mother into the back of a patrol car with no regard to how it would scar Junie for life. Everyone else standing around and gawking—not lifting a finger to help.
Emily’s logic told her to wait—there were two cops unaccounted for, but her heart wanted her to act.
Do something now. Junie needs you.
CHAPTER FORTY-EIGHT
Emily ran across the street, pushing past the homeless people who’d gathered in front of the shelter. She fought through the two men holding Junie and took her friend in her arms.
“Oh, Em, they’re taking her!” Junie sobbed into her shoulder. “That awful woman Doris ratted her out and the police came and found drugs in my mom’s bag. Now they’re taking her away and I don’t know what’s going to happen!”
Junie collapsed into Emily, crying and shaking. Emily held her and rocked her, making cooing and shushing noises like she would to a small child. Not that Emily had any experience with small children—it just felt like the right thing to do.
The police cruiser with Junie’s mom in back pulled away in a lurch. Emily and Junie watched as one of the two remaining officers, a short man with a round belly and a noticeable scar on his face, had a brief conversation with one of the shelter employees.
Then the scarred office came over to them with a pained expression hanging on his face. He addressed Junie.
“We can’t take you tonight. No one from DCS is around to handle you. This is a state-sponsored shelter, so they’re okay to keep you overnight. Are you in school?”
“Yes,” Junie answered between sniffles. “I’m at Pueblo Middle.”
The officer made a note in his pad. “Fine. Someone from DCS will come to your school tomorrow to interview you about your family situation.”
“What’s going to happen to her?” Emily asked, holding Junie even tighter than before.
“Hard to say. DCS usually takes guardianship of a child for a couple of days while they investigate the circumstances. Then they go from there.”
Junie burst into tears again, burrowing her head into Emily’s shoulder.
“It’s okay, June Bug. You go inside and wait for me upstairs. I’ll be there in a minute.”
Junie ran into the shelter, still sobbing. Emily waited for the shelter’s night attendant to finish talking with the police, then convinced him that Junie needed someone to stay with her for the night.
Emily went upstairs and found Junie in the kitchen, still crying, with a frozen look on her face. Emily gave her a tender hug. “It’ll be okay, honey. We’ll figure this out together.”
Junie pulled away and stared back with a pair of weary, bloodshot eyes, but never said a word. In fact, Emily’s were the last words spoken for the remainder of the night.
Emily found peanut butter, jelly, and bread in the cabinets. She made a gooey, thick sandwich for Junie to eat and she did—without hesitation. Bite by bite, Junie consumed the food with a slow-moving jaw, her face puffy and glazed over with a million-mile stare.
A short while later, Emily escorted Junie to the sleeping room and laid beside her on the same bed. A few tears came for Emily as she cradled her friend in her arms, feeling the painful rhythm of a broken heart slamming against her own chest.
Junie fell asleep with tears on her cheek. Emily listened to her breathing pattern, wondering if Junie was dreaming about her mom. Dreaming just as Emily had done so often about her mother in the months immediately after The Taking.
* * *
January 8, 2015
7:04 a.m.
“Be strong, sweetie. Get your work done at school and be a good girl today,” Emily told Junie the next morning on the sidewalk in front of the shelter. “I’ll come find you this afternoon and we’ll go get some ice cream and talk about anything you want. It’ll all work out. I promise.”
“Thanks, Em,” Junie said, giving her a partial smile with sad, downtrodden eyes. She turned and walked away.
Emily waited until Junie was out of sight, then turned in the opposite direction and traveled the ten blocks to Derek’s group home. When she arrived, she found him lying on the living room couch holding an icepack on his head.
He looked at her and smiled. “Heya, Em.”
“Any better?”
“Some. The throbbing in my head is gone but I’m still having a little trouble focusing. I get these starbursts and have to close my eyes for a bit.”
He made room for her on the couch and she sat next to him.
“How about your ribs?”
“Still sore.”
“Where is everyone?”
“They’re at school. Thomas is upstairs talking with the day monitor. Word has it we have a new one starting today. Poor bastard.”
“You seen Nora?”
“Yeah, she already left. You just missed her. She said she might be back, though.”
“Crap, I promised her I’d be here. But this thing came up with Junie’s mom and, well, I couldn’t. I couldn’t leave her alone. She needed me.”
“What happened?”
“Stupid shelter drama. Some ugly bitch ratted her mom out and the cops arrested her for drugs. Gonna take a while to sort this out.”
“How’s Junie?”
“Completely heartbroken. The poor girl. Nothing is ever easy for her. I just wish there was more I could do.”
“I’m
sure she appreciates having you in her life. We all need help sometimes.”
Emily snuggled next to him, careful not to disturb his ribs. “Since you don’t have to go to school, and I don’t go to school, how about we stay right here for the rest of the day and not move. I don’t want to think about anything. Just sit here and chill.”
“Sounds like a plan,” Derek said, putting his arm around her. “Just live in the moment.”
* * *
An hour later, Mr. Thomas came into the living room, followed by a man Emily guessed to be in his late twenties. He was the opposite of Mr. Thomas in every way. He was short, fat, with pudgy cheeks and bright, cheerful eyes. While Mr. Thomas looked like a gangly bird, the man with him looked like a koala bear ready for winter.
“This is Mr. Newhelm,” the night monitor said. “He’s the new day monitor.”
“What happened to Chuck?” Derek asked.
“He was reassigned to another facility.”
“Welcome to the shit,” Derek told the new guy.
“Today’s his first day, so go easy on him, okay?” Thomas asked.
“Sure. It’s not like I can cause trouble in this condition, anyway.”
“Then it should be easy,” Thomas said. He pointed at Emily and then looked at Newhelm. “This is Emily, the girl I told you about.”
Emily gave Newhelm a quick head bob to say hello.
Newhelm raised his hand and sent a quick wave her way. “Hey.”
“If you need help with anything, he’s here for both of you. I’ve filled him in on your situation and he knows it’s okay for Emily to be here helping you. I’ll leave you three to get acquainted. I need to bolt. I’ll be back for my shift tonight.”
As soon as he was gone, Mr. Newhelm bounced on the balls of his feet and gave a hesitant smile. “You can call me Eric. I don’t go for all the formality crap like everyone else. Mr. Newhelm was my old man, and I’m not him, thank God.”
“Hi, Eric,” Emily said. “Did you get a chance to meet Nora earlier? Derek’s nurse.”
“Yep.”
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