Fire and Rain

by Andrew Grey

  “What if he’s the one?” Jos asked, and Kip had to stop to think a few seconds. He didn’t think Aaron Cloud, one of the senior men on the force, would be involved with Gordon Powers, but Jos was right; he had to be cautious.

  “I’ll be careful and make sure you see him before he sees you.” How he was going to do that, though, he wasn’t sure. “Come on inside with me, and we’ll go right to one of the interview rooms. They’re pretty private.” Kip opened his car door and got out, waiting for Jos to follow him with Isaac.

  He led them into the station, past the officer on duty, and into one of the interview rooms, where Jos settled into a chair with Isaac on his lap. “I’ll be right back.” Kip left and went to his work area. He grabbed his laptop and brought it back to the interview room with him. It would be easier to type up the statement as he went than it would be to transcribe it later.

  “What’s going on, Rogers?” Carter asked, poking his head in the interview room. “Hi, guys.”

  Isaac smiled and Jos nodded.

  “I need to take their statements. Could you get the effects we took off the guy we brought in last night? I think some of it is stolen from Josten here.”

  “Sure thing,” Carter said and left the room.

  Kip powered up his computer, pulled up the form, and began gathering the information he needed. Jos was a great witness, remembering details and relaying what happened with as little emotion as possible. That concerned him, though, because he figured Jos was most likely repressing what happened so he could deal with it, but the clear facts were helpful.

  Carter returned with an envelope and left the room, then returned again with a bottle of water, which he handed to Jos.

  “It’s all right. Take your time,” Kip said.

  Jos opened the bottle, then gulped water quickly. “I don’t want to think about what could have happened.”

  “I know.” Kip wanted to take Jos’s hand to try to comfort him. He knew relating the events was hard, but this was only the first time, and most likely Jos would have to do it again and again if he had to go to court. It wasn’t a pleasant notion. “Just take your time. There’s no hurry.”

  “Is there a place Isaac can sit where he isn’t going to hear?”

  Kip wasn’t sure what to do.

  Carter came to the rescue. “I can ask Donald to come down for Isaac. When I talked to him a while ago, he said Alex wanted to know if Isaac was okay.”

  “I appreciate it,” Kip said, and Carter left once again. Kip settled and gave Jos some time, letting him talk about what happened in his own way as best he could. “I heard Tyler say you were his. What did he mean?”

  “On the street, bigger people prey on the weaker ones. Tyler wanted me to stay with him and….” Jos paused and looked down at Isaac. “You can figure out what he wanted. He promised to protect Isaac and me, but I didn’t believe him. He’s a lying snake, and everyone is afraid of him. Some said he killed people, but I don’t know if that’s true or not.” Jos held Isaac tighter on his lap.

  “Tyler is bad and he smells,” Isaac said, holding his nose. “He needs a bath. Maybe two.”

  “Yeah, he was smelly,” Kip agreed. He let Jos drink his water and calm down. Donald came in after about ten minutes, and Isaac slipped off Jos’s lap and went with him and Alex.

  “We’ll be down in the breakroom. The boys can play Legos some more. Take whatever time you need.”

  Jos seemed about ready to freak when Isaac left, but then he settled, and Kip walked Jos through what had happened.

  “Did he actually rape you?” he asked.

  “No. He got my pants down and was about to open his when you showed up and stopped him.” Most of the color left Jos’s face.

  Once he’d finished taking Jos’s statement, Kip opened the envelope and pulled out the items inside one by one. They were in evidence bags.

  “That’s mine, and so is that watch,” Jos said. He pointed to his mother’s necklace. “You know that’s mine too. He said that his protection came at a higher price than just my ass.” Jos paused and shivered even though the room was warm. “He’s an asshole, and I hope you get him for everything you can.”

  “We will. Now we can add theft, and we have the items. I wonder where he got the rest.”

  “I don’t know. I tried to stay away from him as much as I could, and usually I could smell him before I saw him.”

  “All right.” Kip stood. “Let me go check the roster and see if Aaron is in. I don’t believe he’s in league with Powers, but it doesn’t hurt to be sure. I’ll be a minute.” Kip paused. “Do you know what day you were evicted?”

  “Three weeks ago yesterday,” Jos answered.

  “Let me check and see if he was on duty.” That was a much safer approach. Kip left and checked the schedules. Aaron was on duty that day. So he found Carter and asked if he could check the call logs for the day of the eviction.

  “What are you looking for?” Carter asked as he logged in, bringing up the log.

  “A call about an eviction. It would be the area on A Street where Powers has that run of small apartment buildings.”

  “I don’t see it. Who made the call?” Carter printed out the basic call log for him. Kip took it and returned to Jos to ask.

  “I didn’t call,” Jos said. “I was going to, but then he just showed up. I thought one of the neighbors had called….”

  “Nope,” Kip answered. He began to think. The guy could be someone impersonating a police officer or someone Powers called on to put down any resistance and to make what he was doing easier to complete. “This is a picture of Aaron.” Kip showed it to Jos, who shook his head. “Good. I’m going to get him.” Kip printed off the statement, got it from the printer, and handed it to Jos. “Go ahead and read it while I’m gone, and then you can sign it if I have everything right.” He grabbed his laptop and took it back to his desk before going in search of Aaron.

  “Isn’t today your day off?” Aaron asked when Kip found him at his desk.

  “Yeah. It’s a long story, but I have someone who might be able to help with Powers. He was evicted a few weeks ago, and he said there was a police officer there. He isn’t sure who it was, but he said the guy told him there was nothing he could do. I checked the records, and Jos confirmed that he never called the police. The police officer was just there, probably at Power’s request.”

  “Okay….”

  “So what if Powers has a man inside the department?” Kip asked. “I think you should talk to Jos. But be gentle. This guy has been through a lot, and he’s nervous enough being here.”

  “Is this the man who has a kid that’s staying with you?”

  God, word sure traveled fast. “Yeah. He needed some help.”

  “Be careful,” Aaron said. “I know you want to help. It’s why most of us went into this kind of work. But we can’t be all things to everyone, and we have to have a life outside the job.” Aaron stood up and came around his desk. “To a degree we’re all about the job. It takes over a lot of our lives. Nine-to-five isn’t for us, but we also need some part of our lives that’s quiet and ours.”

  “I don’t understand.”

  Aaron clapped him on the back. “Just don’t let the job take over everything in your life. Being a police officer cost me a marriage because I didn’t know how to let go of things. I brought cases home and even a kid who needed help, like you. But it was too much for Kirsten, and she ended up leaving.”

  “I’m not married, but I think I understand what you’re saying.” There wasn’t anything he could do about it now because there was no way he’d put Isaac and Jos back on the streets. He just had to help them put their life together again so they could be on their own. “I’ll be careful.”

  Aaron followed him out of his office and down the hall to the interview room where Jos waited, his bouncing leg stilling as soon as Kip returned.

  “I’m Detective Cloud.” Jos nodded and watched Aaron intently, as though he expected to be attack
ed at any moment.

  “Jos has identified a number of items that we recovered from last night’s suspect, so we can add theft to the charges,” Kip said.

  “When will I get them back?” Jos asked.

  Aaron sat down. “This is the crappy part. We need them as evidence, so they have to stay with us until we find out if he’s going to fight the charges in court. You could have your items back now, but then the theft charges would have to be dropped. Hopefully we can make all the charges stick, and this helps.”

  Jos lowered his gaze. “So he steals from me no matter what. He takes my stuff, you get it back, and I lose it anyway because you need it.”

  “I know how you feel, but the courts require evidence, and it’s temporary. Him having your things on him is dead-to-rights proof of theft,” Aaron explained. He leaned forward, resting his hands on the table. “I understand you have a complaint to file against Gordon Powers for wrongful eviction.”

  “I don’t know if there’s anything you can do. I don’t want to go back there ever again, but all my stuff was taken, not that I have any place to keep it.”

  “Tell him what you told me,” Kip said.

  “There was a policeman there. He showed up when they were kicking me out. I thought maybe the neighbors had called the police, but I should have known better. Most of the people there don’t speak much English, and they aren’t going to call attention to themselves if they can help it.” Jos seemed defeated. “I’d lost my job, and he didn’t even give me the chance to find another one. He just kicked me and Isaac out on the street.”

  “Was it just you?”

  “No. He did it to another family too. I thought it was really strange. The apartment across the way from me was empty. I don’t know about the others in the building.”

  “It had nothing to do with you losing your job. Powers sold that building to a developer who bought the land behind it. The guy needed access and paid Powers a lot, I’m guessing, for the building. Probably made it a condition that the tenants be gone so he could tear it down right away. Powers is a real piece of work.”

  “There was a policeman there,” Jos reiterated.

  “We didn’t get a call,” Kip said and handed Aaron the call logs from that night. “We think he was there because Powers made sure he was.”

  “Why didn’t you call me right away?” Aaron asked as he stared at the log.

  Kip kept quiet and hoped Jos would as well.

  “Kip?” Aaron pressed and Kip shrugged. “I get it. You thought it was me?”

  “I didn’t think so, but we had to be sure.”

  “What did the officer look like?”

  “I don’t know. I wasn’t paying much attention to him. Isaac was crying, and I was scared to death because I didn’t have any place to go. I had a little money, but it would be gone in a few days at a hotel, and the weather was warm…. I didn’t know what else to do. We managed to get into a shelter, thank God, and I kept what little money I had hidden.”

  “I need you to think. Try to remember. Did his uniform look like Kip’s? Did he have the same patches and his badge in the same place?” Aaron turned to him for a second and then back to Jos. “Was his shirt blue or white?”

  “White,” Jos answered. “It was definitely white, and he wore a tie.”

  “South Middleton Township police,” Aaron said. “That explains why we don’t have a record of a call at all—we didn’t get one.”

  “But he was out of his jurisdiction,” Kip said. “He couldn’t do anything.”

  “Yeah, but he kept anyone else from calling the police because they all thought the police were already there. And the building is empty now, I suspect, waiting for demolition.”

  Kip smiled. “Can we get a warrant? Maybe Jos’s things are there, and we can get something out. He has paperwork he needs, and maybe his and Isaac’s clothes. He left with practically nothing.”

  “I’ll try,” Aaron agreed. “It’s hard to get anything on this guy, and the judges are getting pretty demanding because we always seem to come up empty. I might be more successful if I can restrict it just to Josten’s apartment.”

  “Whatever you can do,” Kip said.

  “I know I don’t deserve your help, but thank you,” Jos said.

  Kip watched as Aaron’s mouth dropped open in near total shock. “Of course you deserve my help. Everyone does. That’s what we’re here for—to help wherever and whomever we can. It doesn’t matter who you are or if you’re homeless or not—we’re here to help.” The indignation in Aaron’s voice filled the room. “I’ll do whatever I can.” Aaron stood, and Kip thought he was going to leave the room, but he walked around the table and crouched near Jos. “You have nothing to fear from the police. I know a lot of people on the streets are afraid of us because we make them move on when they find a place to stay, but it isn’t personal, and we don’t hate the homeless.” Aaron stood back up as Isaac bounded into the room. He stopped when he saw Aaron and walked slowly around to Jos.

  “Are you done?” he stage-whispered. “Mr. Donald said we could get ice cream when you were done.” Isaac danced from foot to foot.

  “Almost,” Kip told him. He walked over, scooped Isaac into his arms, and blew bubbles on his belly. Isaac laughed at the top of his lungs, and Kip did it again. Isaac continued giggling and squirming. A few seconds later Kip looked up and realized not only were Aaron and Jos looking at him, but half the department was peering in the doorway. “Let’s go find Mr. Donald so we can clean up and get ready to go. Jos and Officer Aaron are going to have a talk, and they don’t really need us.” He carried Isaac into the breakroom, where Donald and Alex were sitting at the table.

  “Is he done?” Alex asked.

  “Almost.” Isaac practically shook with excitement, then turned to look up at him. “Mama used to take me to get ice cream sometimes, but Jos hasn’t.”

  “What was your mama like?” Kip asked. He figured it was better to get Isaac to talk about it than to ignore the fact that his mother was gone.

  “Tall—not as tall as you—and pretty. Mama used to dress pretty and go out.” Isaac put his arms around Kip’s neck and rested his head on his shoulder. “I want my mama,” he said softly. “We had fun-ral and she gone, but I want Mama.”

  Kip’s heart leaped and wept at the same time. That Isaac would turn to him and trust him with his heartbreak was both sad and amazing. There had been few times in his life when he’d felt as close to someone as he did to Isaac in those few minutes. Isaac’s innocence, and the way he only needed to be cared for, touched something deep inside him.

  “You should definitely be a father,” Donald said softly. “You were meant for that.”

  “I don’t think so,” Kip said.

  “It doesn’t matter one bit, gay or straight, the kind of father we’ll be. I like to think that Carter and I are good fathers.”

  “I wish I’d have had someone like you as my father.” The role model he’d had scared the crap out of him when it came to children. Basically Kip thought about what his father would do and then did the exact opposite. “Mine never held me like this. I don’t remember him going to a game or seeing a program at school. I do remember him sitting in his chair, television on, a beer in one hand and the next one ready on the table.” Movement caught his attention, and he turned as Jos leaned against the doorframe. Kip put Isaac on his feet, and he rushed over to Jos.

  “Ice cream now?”

  “Alex, you and Isaac clean up the Legos, and then we’ll go get some ice cream.” Donald handed Alex the bag, and Isaac hurried over to help put the blocks away.

  “Did you tell Aaron what he needed?”

  “Yeah. He said if he got the warrant, he’d let me know so I could go over and get my things. He said he was going to say that the apartment contained stolen property. Because it does. Powers stole my stuff from me. He isn’t sure he’ll be able to make the charges stick because he said Powers will say that I just didn’t come back for my things, bu
t hopefully….”

  “If you get the papers, it’ll help a lot. You could get replacements, but that takes time you don’t have right now.” Donald pulled Alex up onto his lap, and Jos sat down, letting Isaac climb onto his. The obvious affection between Isaac and Jos was tender and sweet. They even tilted their head the same way when they listened. You could tell they were brothers, although with their age difference, Isaac could be Jos’s son.

  “I’ll try.” Jos sighed. “All this is overwhelming, and I can hardly believe you can help me. I half expect all this to end at any second.”

  “There are limits to what we can do, but of course we’ll help,” Kip said, stepping behind Jos’s chair. He nearly placed his hands on his shoulders but stopped himself just in time. Jos was someone he was trying to help, not his family or his boyfriend.

  “Why would you help me?” Jos said. “I mean, I know you’re helping for Isaac, but I appreciate it.”

  Kip knelt next to Jos’s chair. “I’d help even if it was just you. This isn’t just about Isaac.” There would be limited things Donald could do to help if Isaac wasn’t involved, but Kip really wanted to think he’d help Jos even if Isaac wasn’t around. “Now how about we go get that ice cream, and then we can stop at the store so I can do what I promised and get Isaac a real horsey.”

  Jos turned to him, smiled slightly, and then nodded. “Okay.”

  “Yay!” Isaac said. Kip wasn’t sure if it was about the ice cream or the horsey, maybe both. He had no idea, and it didn’t matter. Isaac was happy, and after a few seconds Jos smiled as well.

  “Are you ready?” Kip waited while Jos put Isaac down and took his hand, leading him out of the station. “We’ll follow you,” Kip told Donald, and he helped Isaac get into his seat. Then he waited for Donald to get ready, following him the few blocks to the Bruster’s.

  KIP WAS happy, Isaac was full and asleep in the backseat, holding the blond stuffed horse Kip got him at Walmart, and even Jos seemed content as they pulled up in front of Kip’s house. As soon as Kip recognized the car parked across the street, he got out. Jeffrey did the same and walked over to him.