ourselves. Most of us round here aren’t into drugs or bad shit. We just can’t get back on our feet.”
“I know.” Todd spoke without any judgment.
“What about other kids?” I piped up. “I assume you probably know the area pretty well. Do you see any of the older kids being cruel? Threatening the younger ones? Or any adults hanging out who don’t belong?” I wanted to add Justin’s description, but judging by the way his eyeballs were popping out of his head, another word and Todd might throw me down the stairs.
“Course I see kids being cruel,” Hank said. “Most of them are little assholes who don’t know how easy they’ve got it. But never anything that stood out as unusual. Just typical brats.”
“No one new in the neighborhood?” Todd prompted.
“Not that I’ve seen, but I’m not usually out and about when the kids are milling ‘round after school, you know? Figure they don’t need to see the lousy side of life just yet.” The man’s voice lost its edge. “Ain’t my job to tell them how rough it is as an adult.” Hank’s eyes brightened. “Hey, hey, wait a minute. There is one thing.”
I held my breath.
“Yeah, Sly Lyle, he sometimes squats here.” Hank opened one of the bottles of water and took a long drink. “We call him Sly because he fancies himself a ladies man. Don’t ask me why–man looks like a bearded troll. Anyway, couple of weeks ago, he was going on about seeing some dude messing with a kid. Grade school girl, he said.”
“What did the girl look like?” I asked, as Todd barked, “Did he get a description of the man?”
“Naw. You gotta understand, Sly sees something crazy every other week. I think he makes up stories just to talk shit.” Hank dived into the bologna like it was a filet mignon. “This time, he bragged about running the guy off. But Sly’s about as big as a puppy and even more awkward. Afraid of his own shadow.”
“I still need to check the story,” Todd said. “Where does Sly usually hang out?”
“When he’s here, he’s downstairs,” Hank said. “Afraid of the floor falling in, you know. He’s short and stick-thin, wears a trench coat that looks like it’s got mothballs in permanent residence. You can’t miss him, but I haven’t seen him in several days.”
“If you do, see what you can get out of him. You still got minutes on that prepaid cell I gave you?” Todd asked.
“Yep. Will keep my ears open. I hear anything, I’ll call you right away.”
They shook hands, and Hank headed to what I assumed was his room. “You gave him a phone?”
“How else is he supposed to get ahold of me if he needs to?”
“Good point.” I was starting to like Todd, which couldn’t be a good thing considering he was a cop, and I had a dark secret.
“By the way, good job on staying quiet.”
“Sorry.”
“No you aren’t.”
Two other men called the building home, and neither were Sly. Both had heard the same story, however, and neither believed him. We exited, and I was surprised by how much warmth the battered shelter provided. I pulled my coat closer as Todd checked his phone.
“Nothing so far,” he said. “Not a damned sign.”
“There’s not going to be. Whoever took her had time to watch and plan. He’s got a good hiding spot. If she’s still alive.”
“And my brother had the most time to watch and plan, right?” He’d lost all the kindness he’d shown the homeless men. I wanted to bristle, but I couldn’t blame him for his anger.
“He did,” I said. “But to be fair, I’m sure plenty of others did, too.”
He ground his teeth, his glare fierce.
“I’m sorry about this whole mess.” Emotion welled in my throat so that I nearly choked, and my voice warbled, carrying over the frigid air. “Sorry for you and Justin and Kailey. And believe me, I would love to be wrong about Justin. I would love for you to be right about him–you deserve to be right. I just can’t muster the hope that you
“I know.” Todd spoke without any judgment.
“What about other kids?” I piped up. “I assume you probably know the area pretty well. Do you see any of the older kids being cruel? Threatening the younger ones? Or any adults hanging out who don’t belong?” I wanted to add Justin’s description, but judging by the way his eyeballs were popping out of his head, another word and Todd might throw me down the stairs.
“Course I see kids being cruel,” Hank said. “Most of them are little assholes who don’t know how easy they’ve got it. But never anything that stood out as unusual. Just typical brats.”
“No one new in the neighborhood?” Todd prompted.
“Not that I’ve seen, but I’m not usually out and about when the kids are milling ‘round after school, you know? Figure they don’t need to see the lousy side of life just yet.” The man’s voice lost its edge. “Ain’t my job to tell them how rough it is as an adult.” Hank’s eyes brightened. “Hey, hey, wait a minute. There is one thing.”
I held my breath.
“Yeah, Sly Lyle, he sometimes squats here.” Hank opened one of the bottles of water and took a long drink. “We call him Sly because he fancies himself a ladies man. Don’t ask me why–man looks like a bearded troll. Anyway, couple of weeks ago, he was going on about seeing some dude messing with a kid. Grade school girl, he said.”
“What did the girl look like?” I asked, as Todd barked, “Did he get a description of the man?”
“Naw. You gotta understand, Sly sees something crazy every other week. I think he makes up stories just to talk shit.” Hank dived into the bologna like it was a filet mignon. “This time, he bragged about running the guy off. But Sly’s about as big as a puppy and even more awkward. Afraid of his own shadow.”
“I still need to check the story,” Todd said. “Where does Sly usually hang out?”
“When he’s here, he’s downstairs,” Hank said. “Afraid of the floor falling in, you know. He’s short and stick-thin, wears a trench coat that looks like it’s got mothballs in permanent residence. You can’t miss him, but I haven’t seen him in several days.”
“If you do, see what you can get out of him. You still got minutes on that prepaid cell I gave you?” Todd asked.
“Yep. Will keep my ears open. I hear anything, I’ll call you right away.”
They shook hands, and Hank headed to what I assumed was his room. “You gave him a phone?”
“How else is he supposed to get ahold of me if he needs to?”
“Good point.” I was starting to like Todd, which couldn’t be a good thing considering he was a cop, and I had a dark secret.
“By the way, good job on staying quiet.”
“Sorry.”
“No you aren’t.”
Two other men called the building home, and neither were Sly. Both had heard the same story, however, and neither believed him. We exited, and I was surprised by how much warmth the battered shelter provided. I pulled my coat closer as Todd checked his phone.
“Nothing so far,” he said. “Not a damned sign.”
“There’s not going to be. Whoever took her had time to watch and plan. He’s got a good hiding spot. If she’s still alive.”
“And my brother had the most time to watch and plan, right?” He’d lost all the kindness he’d shown the homeless men. I wanted to bristle, but I couldn’t blame him for his anger.
“He did,” I said. “But to be fair, I’m sure plenty of others did, too.”
He ground his teeth, his glare fierce.
“I’m sorry about this whole mess.” Emotion welled in my throat so that I nearly choked, and my voice warbled, carrying over the frigid air. “Sorry for you and Justin and Kailey. And believe me, I would love to be wrong about Justin. I would love for you to be right about him–you deserve to be right. I just can’t muster the hope that you
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