Maybe he should have pulled over for the officers who’d been following him.
And maybe he shouldn’t have come to a screeching halt behind the squad car that was already at the Sanchez place while those officers had been approaching the door. And maybe he shouldn’t have ignored them when they’d demanded that he stop his charge to the front door and simply let them handle it. If he’d made different decisions, the officers probably wouldn’t have drawn their weapons, nor would he have faced a situation in which he’d wondered whether they might actually fire them.
On the plus side, he hadn’t actually touched any of the officers after he’d kicked the door in, but none of them were in any mood to listen when he’d tried to tell them about the vacant house or the park, places that Lester may have run off to. All four were too pissed for that. They had him on speeding, reckless driving, and ignoring lawful directions, and they weren’t going to settle for writing a couple of tickets and be done with it. They’d placed him under arrest, which meant his deal was going to be revoked.
His lawyers would fight it; no question about that, but more than likely, the original judge would be informed. That judge – as evidenced by his decision in the first place – was fair and reasonable, but he’d also been crystal clear in his expectations, and the court would know about it. Add in the fact that Margolis would be arguing on the other side for permanent placement among the dangerous and violent, and the writing was on the wall.
Prison.
He wasn’t afraid of being locked up. As a general rule, he did well in places with rules and structure, even without freedom. He knew how to keep to himself and mind his own business and look the other way when necessary and keep his mouth shut, and after a while, the whole thing would likely become routine. He’d survive and eventually get released and he’d start over again. But…
Maria wouldn’t wait for him, and he wouldn’t be able to become a teacher.
He didn’t want to think about those things. Given the same situation, he’d do it all again. Maria’s stalker shows up with a gun? Had to try to save her. Simple as that. How could he have known that Lester would have been gone by the time he arrived?
Had they listened to him, Colin figured that the police could have found Lester already. But precious minutes had ticked by while they put on the handcuffs and read Colin his rights, and it wasn’t until the officers had calmed their nerves that they were finally able to listen first to Maria’s story, which came out in fits and starts, and then to Felix, who’d said that he didn’t intend to press charges for the broken door and splintered frame. Both Serena and Carmen were crying throughout. Way too late, he’d finally watched two of the four officers leave in one of the squad cars in search of Lester. After that, surprising him, Maria asked the remaining officers to call Detective Margolis when her pleas to have Colin released were met with indifference.
Colin closed his eyes, hoping that the detective would be otherwise occupied.
A moment later, one of the officers announced that Margolis was on his way.
Margolis was going to love this. No doubt he’d put on one of his self-satisfied smirks while he gave Colin the whole I warned you all along that this would be coming speech that he was surely already rehearsing as he made his way here.