Authors: Maris Soule
T
HE
FOLLOWING
WEEKEND
, Mary took Robby up on his suggestion and asked Shannon if she’d like to go shopping in Grand Rapids and then have dinner. With Christmas less than six weeks away, Shannon readily agreed, and Mary picked her up at two o’clock. On the drive to Grand Rapids they talked about school; or rather, Shannon talked. ‘It’s so boring, Grandma. All the teachers talk about is “When you go to college.” Even my friends talk about it. Their parents have them filling out applications, writing essays.’
‘What about your boyfriend?’ Mary said. ‘Aren’t his parents pushing for him to go to college?’
‘No. He’s got the neatest parents.’ Shannon practically bounced when she turned in her seat toward Mary. ‘They told him they think he should take a year or two to find himself, decide what he wants to do for the rest of his life. They want him to experience what it’s like to live in another country, learn other languages and cultures.’
On the surface it made sense to Mary. ‘Does he have a plan on how he’s going to accomplish this?’
‘Sort of. I mean, like I told you, he’ll be on that bicycle trip this summer. And then, after we get together in Paris, we’re going to get a place to live and learn the language. And then we’ll travel to other countries. Germany. Italy. Africa. Like everywhere. You know.’
Mary knew. She knew it sounded fun and romantic. She also knew Shannon’s plan had flaws. ‘And how do you plan on paying for a place to live and for all of these trips?’
‘We’ve been saving our money. Aiden has almost a thousand now. And I, well …’
‘I believe you said you had around five hundred.’
Shannon sighed. ‘Maybe more like four hundred. I sort of had to buy some new shoes.’
Mary chuckled. ‘I don’t think four hundred dollars will last very long.’
‘Yeah, but …’ Shannon hesitated, and Mary glanced her way. The girl licked her lips, and gave Mary a longing look. ‘I kinda
hoped, you know, like maybe you could loan me a little. Just enough until Aiden and I find jobs.’
‘Oh, Shannon.’ Mary shook her head and kept her eyes on the road. ‘Your mom and dad would kill me if I gave you any money for a trip like that.’
‘But don’t you agree it would be a wonderful experience for me?’
‘Yes, but not the way you have it planned.’
‘Then how?’ Shannon asked and sighed. ‘How can I get Mom to even consider the idea?’
‘You’re going to have to come up with a proposal that shows her why a year of travel would better prepare you for college. You’re going to have to figure out a way to pay for that year.’ She paused and glanced at her granddaughter. ‘A way that doesn’t include me.’
‘But how?’
‘There are programs you could apply for, overseas jobs. Get on the Internet. See what is out there.’
Shannon leaned back in her seat. ‘I never thought of that. Yeah, if Aiden and I had jobs lined up before we even got over there, we’d be set.’
Mary laughed. ‘Shannon, if you want to go on this trip, I definitely wouldn’t tell your mom and dad that you’re planning on living with your boyfriend, not unless you plan on wearing a chastity belt while you’re there.’
‘A chastity belt?’ Shannon screwed up her nose. ‘What’s that?’
‘It’s …’ Mary glanced at Shannon, then shook her head. ‘Never mind, just don’t say anything to your mom and dad about living with Aiden.’
It started raining as they neared Grand Rapids, a downpour that demanded Mary’s full attention, so she decided to hold off questioning Shannon about gang activities until they’d finished shopping and were having dinner.
Mary’s favorite restaurant in Grand Rapids was Charlie’s Crab, and Shannon didn’t object when Mary suggested they have dinner there. Nestled just off Fulton Avenue with a view of the Grand River, the restaurant was known for its seafood, and both Mary and Shannon ordered crab. ‘I have a question,’ Mary said, after the waitress had taken their orders. ‘Lately I’ve been hearing a lot about
gangs. In fact, my friend and neighbor, Mrs Williams, is so worried about gangs, she wants to start a Neighborhood Watch. What do you know about gangs, Shannon? Do we have them in Rivershore?’
‘Do we?’ Shannon rolled her eyes. ‘They’re terrible. I think Mrs Williams is right, Grandma. You old people should have some sort of way to watch out for each other.’
Mary wasn’t sure she liked the way Shannon said ‘you old people’, but that was beside the point. ‘Have you or any of your friends ever been bothered by gang members?’
‘I think they bothered Aiden. He won’t say anything about it, but one day last spring he came to school with a black eye, and he told me I shouldn’t go out alone at night.’
‘What about you? Have they ever bothered you?’
‘Yeah. Sort of.’ She looked away, not meeting Mary’s gaze.
‘What happened?’
Shannon looked back. ‘A couple girls stopped me after school.’
‘And…?’
‘They wanted me to give them some money.’
‘And then what?’
Shannon looked down at the table. ‘I told them I didn’t have any, but they said I’d better find some or something bad would happen to me.’
‘So what did you do then?’
Her granddaughter lowered her head even more and whispered her answer. ‘I took some from Mom’s purse and gave it to them.’
‘Oh, Shannon.’ It took Mary a moment before she could think of what to say. ‘You’ve got to tell your mom what’s going on … and your dad. This has got to stop.’
‘But how? What…?’ Shannon stopped talking when the waitress brought their salads, then went on, almost at a whisper, once the waitress left. ‘There’s this guy. Jose something or other. They say he’s really mean, that he’s already been in prison. They say if they don’t bring him money, he’ll kill them. That he’ll kill me.’
‘Jose.’ She had what she wanted. A name – a person – to focus on. ‘Find out this Jose’s last name. Then tell me, and I’ll take care of the problem.’
Shannon’s look expressed her disbelief. ‘You will?’
Mary realized she’d said too much. ‘In a way, I will,’ she faked. ‘I’ve got a friend in the police department. He needs to know about this Jose guy.’
Jack hadn’t seen or talked to Mary Harrington for over two weeks. He also hadn’t been called by anyone about his search into her background, and neither had the chief. That surprised Jack, but he was willing to let sleeping dogs lie.
He had other matters on his mind, had thought Pedro Rodriguez might be a way to get to Jose Rodriguez. But once Pedro had a lawyer, he stopped talking, and as soon as he was arraigned and his bail posted, he disappeared. He was supposed to check in with the Detroit Police Department, but he never did, and when Jack followed up on the address Pedro had given him,
‘mi madre’s’
house turned out to be an abandoned warehouse.
Big surprise. The guy had lied to him.
Jack doubted they would ever see Pedro again, unless as a corpse.
Gangs and drugs weren’t the only activities keeping Jack busy. Two African-Americans had robbed the downtown bank. It took Jack two days before he had their names. One turned himself in after Jack talked to the man’s sister. The other one offered no resistance when Jack and Officer Carlson visited his home.
Paperwork also took up a good part of Jack’s time, along with a court appearance on a rape case he’d handled a year earlier. He was glad when the verdict came in as guilty. The man had been a minister, had preached on Sundays and raped underaged girls during the week. Jack had been afraid the jury might have been swayed by the minister’s age and looks. He could have passed as Santa’s double, but his victims said he was anything but a sweet old elf.
Some people wondered why so many cops had drinking problems. Jack figured if those people met as many scumbags as he did, they’d also have drinking problems. That Monday night he really wanted to stop in at the Shores after work and have a couple of beers, but he’d told Carlson he’d be at Ella Williams’ Neighborhood Watch meeting, and Jack figured it probably wouldn’t look good if he came in smelling like a drunk.
Phil would be in charge of the meeting, but Jack was curious to
see what these people were thinking. He also wanted to see if Mary Harrington would be there, and if she did attend, what she would say.
Would she confess to the group that she’d had an encounter with two gang members? Tell them how she defended herself?
No matter what she and the boys said, Jack was sure she was the one.
In truth, he doubted she’d say anything. If she was in the Witness Protection Program, she’d already learned what happened when you testified against a gang. Being a good citizen could make you move, force you to leave your family and friends, and require you to take on a new identity.
He wondered what she would say if he told her someone was still protecting her past.
Several cars were already parked in the lot beside the Rivershore Elementary School. Jack parked back near the far edge of the building, got out of his car, and locked it. The night air was cold and crisp, causing his nose hairs to tingle, but it hadn’t snowed since the day after Halloween, and the sky was clear, a three-quarter moon already high above the school. He lit a cigarette and took a long drag. He hoped this meeting didn’t last too long. Not that he had anywhere to go, he just wasn’t looking forward to a long-drawn-out discussion about how bad things had gotten and how the police weren’t doing enough.
He watched more cars pull into the lot and park. Singles, couples, even a family of four exited the vehicles and headed for the main entrance. Before he finished his cigarette, Jack stubbed it out on a metal post, made sure it was fully extinguished, and dropped it into the outside pocket of his overcoat. Taking his time, he ambled toward the entrance.
A teepee straw bundle, tied with binding twine, was propped up next to the entrance door, three large pumpkins at its base, while pictures of hands colored to look like turkeys covered the door’s glass panes. A sign had been taped on the outside of the door, covering several of the ‘turkeys’ and directing those attending the Neighborhood Watch meeting to go to the student cafeteria. Even without the sign, Jack could have found the location by following
the sound of voices. Neighbors were greeting neighbors, women giving hugs, men shaking hands, children gathering in groups. Jack eased himself into the room and took a chair at the back.
Phil Carlson, in full uniform, stood at the front of the cafeteria talking to a short, pudgy, white-haired woman who could have been anywhere from sixty to eighty. It took Jack a moment to find Mary Harrington. He’d just started thinking she hadn’t come to the meeting when he spotted her talking to an overweight, elderly man who practically hid her from view. For the first time since Jack had met her, she wasn’t wearing sweatpants, and the tailored black pantsuit and light-purple blouse she had on accentuated her slender form. He had a feeling she’d been quite a knockout in her younger years. The way the man talking to her was smiling, Jack knew he wasn’t the only one who found Mary Harrington attractive.
Jack could tell the moment she spotted him. Her smile turned to a frown, and she gave a slight shake of her head. He might have gotten up and gone over to talk to her, except a middle-aged woman wearing the typical Rivershore Hospital’s nursing uniform of a pink top, white slacks, and white shoes picked that moment to sit next to him. ‘Hi,’ she said. ‘I’m Dolores. Dolores Tredwell. You look familiar. Have we met before?’
‘Perhaps,’ he said and offered his hand. ‘I’m Sergeant Jack Rossini. You’ve probably seen me at the hospital.’ He nodded toward the front of the room. ‘I’m just here to give Officer Carlson a hand, if he needs it.’
‘Oh, of course.’ She laughed and shook his hand. ‘For a moment I thought we had a new neighbor. I mean, you’re not in uniform so I thought, that is …’ Again she laughed, almost a giggle. ‘I don’t know what I thought. You’ll have to excuse me. I just finished a fourteen-hour shift, and I’m not thinking straight.’
‘You’re forgiven.’ Jack glanced around the room. ‘Does everyone here live on Maple Street?’
‘Quite a few of us do, but I think Ella also talked to people on Oak and Archer. They’ve had trouble on Archer, you know.’ Dolores laughed again. ‘Of course you know. You’re the police. Were you there that night? I saw those boys when they came in, babbling that some old lady had attacked them. I didn’t see the tox report, but
they had to be high on something. Those two were no wimps. I wouldn’t have wanted to run into them at night.’
‘But they were saying an old woman attacked them.’ Jack looked over at Mary Harrington.
‘That was what they said at first, then their friends showed up, and the boys changed their story, claimed someone dressed in black attacked them. Later I heard they changed their story again, said they simply tripped and fell.’ She shook her head in disbelief.
‘And what do you think?’
‘Don’t know, don’t care,’ she said, and faced forward at the sound of a gavel pounding on a table.
‘W
ILL
EVERYONE
PLEASE
sit down,’ Ella ordered, her voice cracking on the word ‘sit’.
Mary glanced toward the door. Coming to this meeting had been a mistake. She’d tried to back out when on the way over Ella had told her she’d invited homeowners from Archer Street, along with those on Oak and Maple. So far, thank goodness, none of the Archer Street people had shown any indication of recognizing her from the night before Halloween, but with Sergeant Rossini here, who knew what might happen, especially if he brought up the incident with the two boys. People might remember she was wearing this same black pantsuit and black jacket that night.
All she had to do was slip by Ella and out the door. Although Ella had picked her up and brought her to the meeting, it wasn’t that far back to Maple Street, and it wasn’t that cold out. Mary figured she could leave a note on Ella’s car saying she’d walked home.
‘Come sit by me,’ Fred Strong said, and snagged her hand before she could move.
‘I need to …’ Mary started, but Fred wasn’t listening, and she found herself being pulled toward two of the dozens of folding chairs that had been set up in the cafeteria.
Fred had been one of Harry’s closest friends, and for the last twenty minutes – ever since she’d arrived with Ella – Fred had been talking to her about Harry and the many fishing trips the two of them had taken when they were younger. She’d enjoyed sharing those memories. That was, until she saw Sergeant Jack Rossini enter the cafeteria.
She doubted if many others in the room knew Rossini was with the Police Department. Unlike the uniformed officer standing next to Ella, Rossini was dressed like most of the men in attendance, his brown-tweed sports jacket, white shirt, multicolored tie, and brown slacks gave no indication he wasn’t a homeowner. He’d had on a tan overcoat when he first entered the cafeteria, but he’d immediately taken it off and draped it over the back of the chair next to him.
He looked tired, and she mentally cast a thought in his direction.
Go home. Get some sleep.
He didn’t leave; instead he looked directly at her, and for a moment she thought he might get up and come over to where she and Fred were standing.
She’d scooted to the left, using Fred’s bulk to block her from view.
The next time she chanced a glance Rossini’s way, he was talking to Dolores Tredwell. Mary hoped the nurse was telling him he looked tired and to go home and get some rest, but from Rossini’s expression, Mary knew that wasn’t the case. He nodded and said something.
Damn, what were they talking about?
Her?
Stop being so self-centered
, she chided herself. After all, Rossini was a good-looking man, and Dolores was divorced. Mary had no idea if Rossini was married, divorced, or a widower. Could be Dolores and he were simply getting to know each other, making plans to meet later.
Go now
, Mary willed the two.
Take off. Go get a drink somewhere. Make wild passionate love.
They didn’t leave, and now it seemed she couldn’t leave either, not until the meeting was over.
‘I’ve been meaning to call you,’ Fred said as he sat beside her, the folding chair giving a creak that made her wonder if it would hold his weight. ‘With your Harry gone and my Silvia having passed on last year, bless her soul, I was thinking you and I should get together for dinner and a movie sometime.’
No way
, Mary thought and smiled his way. ‘That sounds like a nice idea, Fred. Give me a call sometime.’
And I’ll make sure I’m busy.
She didn’t need another man in her life, not when she had a task to accomplish.
Mary barely listened as Ella introduced Officer Phillip Carlson of the Rivershore Police Department and thanked everyone for coming. The thoughts running through Mary’s mind weren’t about starting a Neighborhood Watch, but how to eliminate a gang without reverting back to the person she was before moving to Rivershore.
That gang members had bothered Shannon, upset Mary. If anything happened to her granddaughter …
‘And now,’ Ella said, interrupting Mary’s thoughts, ‘Officer Carlson will tell us what we must do to make our neighborhood safe.’
Want to make the neighborhood safe?
As far as Mary knew, there was only one way.
Eliminate the gang leaders. Attack before being attacked.
But did she want to become a killer … again?
She wasn’t ashamed of the jobs she did for the agency. She and others, working together and alone, had eliminated dictators, cartel bosses, slave traders, gunrunners, and other malfeasants. Over the years, since leaving the agency, every time she heard or read about an untouchable being killed in a car accident, a plane crash, or committing suicide, she wondered if it was truly an accident or suicide or if the deceased might have had a bit of help.
Would they even need a Neighborhood Watch if a certain gang leader had an accident?
Mary quickly dismissed that thought. There would be no accident. Pandora no longer existed.
Or did she?
‘You, all of you here tonight,’ Officer Carlson said, pointing at his audience, ‘along with all of your neighbors, are our best resource. Get to know each other. Know what cars you drive, what your normal schedules are: when you go to work, to school, and come home. Talk to each other. Going to be gone? Tell your neighbors. Ask them to keep an eye on your house. Then, if you see something out of the ordinary, call us. Call the police.’
Mary watched the officer stroll across the front of the room, his gaze scanning the crowd. ‘If you see someone breaking into a house, or a group of kids or people hanging around, call us.’ He stopped and faced one woman seated in the front row. ‘Don’t confront them, that’s our job. See someone being attacked, like that woman was the other night, call us.’
And what good will that do?
From what Mary had heard, the police were called and the attackers were still on the loose.
‘And those boys,’ one woman from the second row called out. ‘They were attacked on my street.’
‘Did you see the attack?’ Officer Carlson asked, stepping closer to where the woman sat.
Mary cringed, her gaze locked on the back of the woman’s head. Had this woman seen her? Could she identify her?
‘No,’ the woman admitted, shaking her head. ‘But I heard all about it, and one of my neighbors saw what happened. She told the police what she saw, but no one believed her.’
‘We’re following up on that report,’ a deep male voice said from the back of the room, and Mary knew it was Rossini speaking … and how he was following up on that report.
‘I’d like to introduce Sergeant Jack Rossini, head of our Criminal Investigations Unit,’ Officer Carlson said and pointed at the back of the room.
Mary saw Fred turn to look that direction. She didn’t. She held her breath, hoping Rossini wouldn’t say anything about interviewing her or about his suspicions.
‘We follow up on all reports,’ Rossini said, and Officer Carlson nodded.
‘And here’s the information we need in a report,’ Carlson said, once again taking control of the meeting. ‘We need the time of the
day when the incident occurred, where it happened, and what you witnessed. We want as many details as you can supply. A description of who was involved, whether it was a man or a woman, how tall, their build, hair color, skin color, and age. Was there a car involved? What was the license plate number?’
‘What if it’s dark out and you can’t see the license plate?’ another woman in the audience asked.
‘Then tell us as much as you can about the car. Was it a sedan or an SUV? What color? Was it noisy? Music noisy or muffler noise? Could you see how many were in the car? Tell us anything you can about them. The more information you give us, the faster we can find these people and stop what’s going on.’
‘I’ve seen a black car driving up and down Maple Street,’ one woman said. ‘I don’t think it belongs to any of my neighbors.’
So she wasn’t the only one who’d noticed the car. Mary wasn’t sure if that made her happy or not.
‘Then after this meeting, tell me what you remember about this car,’ Carlson said, and looked around the room. ‘Folks, that’s what we need to know. Maybe there’s nothing wrong with this car being on that street, but you need to be aware of its presence and call us if it keeps hanging around. Some of you have young children. We don’t want anything happening to them.’
Mary nodded. She hadn’t thought of a pedophile in connection with the car, but it certainly was a possibility, especially since she and Shannon had seen it hanging around on Halloween.
‘What is being done about these gangs?’ a man seated somewhere near the back of the room asked. ‘All I’m hearing lately are stories about fights and shootings. This used to be a quiet, peaceful town. What is going on?’
Others in the audience sounded their concerns, and Mary hoped Carlson or Rossini would give some specifics, like the names of the gang leaders or where they usually hung out. If she was going to eliminate the threat of these gangs harming others, those details would certainly make her job easier.
But neither man supplied that information.
Typical of the Police Department, Carlson spoke in generalities. The police were working on the problem. It wasn’t as bad as the
media made it sound. Having a Neighborhood Watch would help.
She had a feeling that meant they didn’t know how to stop the violence, that the gang leaders, like so many leaders in the criminal world, used subordinates to do their dirty work, leaving no evidence that they were connected. Nothing to incriminate them.
How she missed ADEC’s research department. They were the ones who gathered the information, filtered out the extraneous, and zeroed in on the real behind-the-scenes culprits. Once the target was identified, her role, along with the other agents, was to get close to that person and quietly and efficiently remove the problem, leaving no evidence that ADEC or any law enforcement agency was involved.
As far as Mary knew, only once had the research department made a mistake.
Her luck the mark was hers.
By the end of the Neighborhood Watch meeting, Mary didn’t feel she’d accomplished anything by coming. There’d been talk about drugs, robberies, gangs, and abandoned houses, but nothing that gave her what she wanted.
As people rose from their seats, some going up front to talk to Officer Carlson and Ella, others gathering in groups to talk to each other, and some leaving, Mary once again considered leaving and walking home by herself. She changed her mind when Fred Strong took a firm hold of her wrist and said, ‘I know you came with Ella, but let me give you a ride home. It would give us a chance to get to know each other better.’
‘I can’t,’ she lied, not liking the way he was possessively holding onto her arm. She was beginning to suspect his idea of getting to ‘know each other better’ might involve more than talk. ‘I promised Ella I’d help her finish up here.’
Fred glanced around the room. ‘She doesn’t need your help. Come on, let’s go.’
She didn’t react until his fingers tightened around her wrist, and he took a step forward, pulling her toward the door. He didn’t react until she stepped back and twisted her wrist down and toward her body, freeing her wrist from his grasp. He stopped and faced her, his expression going from surprise to a frown.
Mary knew her own expression was rapidly changing. Someone had put an arm around her shoulders, stopping her escape.