I was anxious to leave. I was tired and discouraged after my phone call with Schmitty, and now I felt exposed. I waited two hours for the handyman to arrive, stewing over who threw the brick and why. The truth was that I had no idea whether it was a random kid, an Internet crazy, or the beginning of a riot.
After the boards were screwed into the window frame—both on the outside and the inside—I paid the handyman cash, and then we were both on our way.
I checked the time. It was now too late for dinner, and I decided that I’d drive back over to the Juvenile Justice Center. My confidence had been shaken. If Jimmy Poles wasn’t responsible, who was? I needed to find the other thread that connected all the Lost Boys together, and I felt myself being pulled back to that building. Maybe if I stood there long enough and stared at those blue vans, a name would come.
I pulled into the JJC parking lot, stopped the car, and noticed that I had two new texts from Annie. The first said, Nice speech. I smiled. Even though we had our final night at the hotel, it felt good to know that she still thought of me, confirming that we had left on mutual terms. The second text said, Be careful. I stared at the screen. The two words could be read different ways. A warning, or only concern? Maybe she’d been talking with Chief Wilson and knew about Poles.
I put the phone in my pocket and got out of the car. The protesters had made a small bonfire on the edge of the parking lot. They had lawn chairs, a small barbecue, a few coolers, and some tents.
The remaining crowd was now down to about thirty.
Tanisha Walker and her mother were among them. I walked over, and we talked for a few minutes; then I noticed Isaac Turner, with his mother and aunt, by the fire.
I waved, then beckoned to Isaac. “Come on over here,” I said. “Let me introduce you to somebody.”
Isaac looked at his mother, who gave him a nod of approval, and then he got up from his lawn chair and came to me.
“Isaac,” I said. “This is Tanisha Walker. I think you two are about the same age. Tanisha was the first person to hire me. Wouldn’t be involved in any of this, if it wasn’t for her.”
Tanisha smiled and made brief eye contact with Isaac, then looked away.
“Tanisha,” I continued the introductions, “this is Isaac Turner. He’s been very helpful to me.” That earned him another quick, shy look from her, but I was thinking about my conversations with Isaac now. Just because Poles was no longer a suspect, nothing that Isaac had told me about the night that his brother had disappeared was necessarily wrong. There were no logs or formal check-out system. Anybody who worked at the JJC could have taken one of the blue probation vans.
To Isaac I said, “You mind taking a walk with me?”
Isaac glanced back at his mother and then shrugged. “I suppose.”
I looked at Tanisha. “You can come, too, if you want.” I pointed up the street. “Going to take a look at something.”
We walked a half block down Enright Avenue, along the side of the JJC building.
It didn’t take long before we were in front of a tall chain-link fence. On the other side of the fence were a half dozen blue vans. “See those?” I pointed. “On the night that TeeTee disappeared, is that what you saw?”
Isaac nodded. “That’s them.” He looked up at me. “Been tellin’ you that. Seen TeeTee talking to somebody and then he done get into one of them vans. Ain’t never seen him no more after that.”
I glanced at Tanisha and then back at Isaac. “You’re sure?”
“Positive.”
CHAPTER FIFTY-NINE
Sammy was in her bed reading, waiting for me to get home. I knocked on her door frame. “Sorry I’m late.” How many times have I said that to her? I walked over to her bed and sat down. “New book?”
Sammy smiled. “Redwall.” She held it up so that I could see the book’s cover featuring a monastic mouse lifting the legendary sword of Martin the Warrior.
“Looks like a good one.”
“I think so.” She looked at the cover once more, then set it aside. “Seems like you had a busy day.” Sammy sounded like my mother. “Saw it all on television. Grandma thought it was great. The Judge, not so much.”
“He’s more about the settlement than the protest,” I said. “But there’s a need in this world for both.”
“Going to arrest that probation officer now?”
I considered how to answer Sammy’s question, then told the truth. “I don’t think so.”
“But he did it, right?” Sammy furrowed her brow. “They said that he did.”
“That’s certainly what we thought.” I touched her knee. “But now I’m not so sure.”
She nodded, considering this new piece of information. Then she shrugged. “Well I know you’ll get him.”
“Thanks.” I leaned over and kissed the top of her head.
We sat in silence for a bit longer, and I felt myself starting to cycle down from all that had happened during the day and refocus. “Are you ready for us to make a decision?”
Sammy nodded. “Time’s up, isn’t it?”
I smiled at her, trying to add a little levity. “Wish it wasn’t. Kinda like you hanging around, not getting any smarter than your old man.”
“Already smarter,” she shot back.
“Oh you think so, do you?” I started to tickle her, like when she was a little girl, and Sammy squealed in delight. I kept at it until she recanted.
“OK, OK,” she said. “Maybe you’re smarter.”
With that I let her go, and we moved comfortably apart. She emitted a final laugh and smiled at me, then leaned over and took my hand, serious again.
“So where are you thinking?” I asked.
“Well I liked all the schools we visited.” Sammy picked up her book and put it on her nightstand. “But some were a little too fancy, you know? Like, not any fun. Like . . . I don’t know . . . too clean or something.”
I nodded. “Agreed.”
“But I liked that one that was pretty close to us, over by the arboretum.”
“You did?” I thought about all the schools that we had toured, or that Sammy had toured with the Judge. “Clement City?”
“That’s the one.” She nodded. “Clement City Day School. All the kids learn Latin, and I saw one of the teachers had a poster of the Greek gods. That’s pretty cool.”
“It is cool.”
“And maybe I could ride my bike there.” She offered the suggestion on the sly, trying to catch me at a weak moment.
“Maybe,” I said. “Have to think about that.”
“You could ride with me.” Sammy didn’t give up easily. “To keep me safe, you know? And make sure I make it on time. Like hold me accountable and stuff.”
“Have to think about that bike thing.” I smiled and nodded. “But Clement City is a great choice. I’ll call tomorrow, and we’ll make it work. I want to get you started right away.”
Sammy looked at me, beaming. “Thank you, Daddy.”
I leaned over and kissed the top of her head. “You don’t need to thank me.”
After Sammy had fallen asleep, I heard a car drive through the alley a little too fast. I peeked out the window, watching it go, and I felt an unease return. I waited and watched, looking for something more, but nothing happened.