Corrupted (20 page)

Suddenly, a shouted “hey!” cut the quiet Sunday afternoon, and they looked over to see Doreen leaving the detention center, holding the hands of her twin boys. “What the
hell
is going on here, Declan?” she shouted, startling the other couple, who hustled away.

“Doreen, relax.” Declan let go of Bennie, and she stopped in her tracks, momentarily unsure. Doreen must've changed her mind about visiting Richie and she'd brought the twins, who looked adorable, if confused, in matching blue coats.

“Uncle Declan!” called one of the boys, breaking into a happy grin. They both started to run toward Declan, but Doreen yanked them back, advancing.

“Declan, who the
hell
do you think you are, trying to take my son?” Doreen's dark eyes flared with outrage. “Are you
screwing
Jason's lawyer? Is
that
who this is coming from?
Her?
”

“No, wait.” Bennie's mouth went dry, and Declan stepped in front of her, protectively.

“Doreen, calm down in front of the kids—”

“Where do you get off, trying to take my son! Richie told me what you were cooking up!
I'm
his parent, not you!” Doreen threw up her hands without letting go of the twins, tugging them around. The boys started to cry, their identical little faces contorted with anxiety.

“Doreen, please.” Declan raised his hands in appeal. “Get a grip—”

“Go to hell!” Doreen glared past Declan, to Bennie. “You're not taking my son from me! You're not going to screw your way into
my
family!”

“Doreen, that's
enough
,” Declan snapped, stern. “We can talk about this calmly. Let's go somewhere and—”

“I'll fight you every step of the way, Declan!” Doreen ignored the wailing twins. “You think you're here to visit Richie? I took you off the visitors' list, you're not going to see him anymore!
I
get to say who sees him, not you!”

“Doreen, we can work this out—”

“Let him
rot
in there! Let him think about what he does! How he makes life horrible for me and his brothers!
You
can go straight to hell!” Doreen spat at Bennie while the twins cried, their little chests heaving. “He's not your son, Declan! He's
mine
!”

Declan guided Bennie toward the entrance. “Go inside. Hurry. I'll take care of this. Go!”

Bennie hurried away, shaken. She felt bad about Doreen, but worse about the boys, distraught over the confrontation between their mother and uncle.

“Oh, sure, typical freaking lawyer!” Doreen called after her. “Run away like the sneak you are!”

Bennie hurried into the detention center and put her purse on the conveyor belt to go into the metal detector, and Stan the security guard looked up from his newspaper. She could hear Doreen still yelling, but couldn't make out the words. “Sorry about that noise outside.”

“It's not your fault.” Stan gestured her through the detector.

“It's just kind of, upsetting.” Bennie realized that Stan didn't connect her to the scene in the parking lot.

“It isn't the first time. This ain't Disneyland. I bet nobody fights in the parking lot of the Magic Kingdom. That mom, she's a pistol. She gave her son a
real
hard time during the visit. Calvin, you know, the black guard, he had to tell her to mind her tongue.”

“Really?” Bennie asked, dismayed.

“Hey, my mom would've killed me, if I ended up in juvie.” Stan shook his head. “Anyway, I heard your client got to the nurse, so that's good.”

“Yes, thanks.” Bennie picked up her purse from the conveyor belt, realizing the yelling in the parking lot had finally stopped.

“Go on, and I'll have him sent in.”

“Thanks.” Bennie went to the visiting room and sat down. The room was fuller than usual, maybe because it was the weekend, and families clustered around the tables, talking, hugging, and wiping away tears. She looked away, and in the next few minutes, the door on the other side of the room opened, admitting Jason, with Calvin at his side.

They were both smiling, and Bennie found herself on her feet, happy to see Jason, whose grin broadened when he spotted her, scuffing forward more quickly than usual. He still wore his black knit cap, and his eyebrows seemed sparser, but she kept that to herself. “Hey, buddy, give me a hug,” Bennie said, but the boy was already wrapping his arms around her waist.

“Hi, Bennie!” Jason smiled up at her, his blue eyes bright. “My dad said I'm going home! He said you went to a better court, like the boss of the judge!”

“Well, not exactly,” Bennie answered, caught up short. Suddenly she heard shouting from the direction of the entrance hall and heads turned toward the commotion. The door was flung open by Doreen, her dark eyes glittering as she scanned the tables.

“Where are you, you bitch?” she hollered. “You can't hide from me!”

“Stop, Mrs. Grusini!” Calvin hustled from the far side of the room, as shocked parents and children got up from their seats.

Bennie rose, horrified, putting Jason behind her. “Doreen, please, you need to calm down—”

“Stay away from my
freaking family
!” Doreen rushed toward Bennie, her fingers outstretched, but Calvin intercepted her, grabbing her by the arm and trying to pull her back toward the door. Parents rose at the tables, mothers protecting their children and fathers hustling to help Calvin.

“Go back to Philly, you
whore
!” Doreen struggled in his grasp, her face tinged with fury. “We were fine until
you
came here!”

“Doreen, please!” Bennie hustled Jason toward the back of the room.

“That's Richie's mom!” Jason gasped. “Why's she yelling at you, Bennie?”

“You
whore
!” Doreen kept shouting, pushing back against Calvin. “You're
screwing
my brother! You're trying to take my son away from me! You're a freaking
whore
!”

The door banged open, and Declan flew in and grabbed Doreen, tipping the balance in the men's favor, dragging her screaming and kicking toward the door. They got her from the room just as Stan came through the door, blood dripping from a gash near his gelled hairline.

“Attention, people!” Stan called to the crowd, gesturing. “We're going to lock this down! Visiting day is over! We need to lock this down!”

The crowd reacted, talking at once. “No, why?” “Come on, it takes me an hour to drive here!” “I wanna see my kid, I waited all week for this!”

“Sorry, it's procedure,” Stan called back. “Say good-bye to your kids and have them line up at the door! Police are on the way!”

“Bennie, what's going on? What's happening?” Jason hugged Bennie around the waist, and she rubbed his back, holding him close.

“I'll explain later, honey.” Bennie hadn't wanted Jason to know anything, much less to find out this way. “Don't worry about it. It's not your problem.”

“Why lock it down?” a father yelled back, at Stan. “They got her out! It's over! Don't make it a federal case!”

“Sorry, sir.” Stan pointed at the exit door. “Please leave. We have a security risk on the premises, we go into lockdown.”

“That's bullshit!” one mother called out, though most of the parents and the crowd were giving their children final hugs and bidding them teary good-byes.

“Bennie?” Jason hugged her, and she hugged him back.

“You'd better go, honey. I'll come back tomorrow.”

“But when am I going home? I just want to go home.” Jason's eyes brimmed with tears, and Bennie's heart broke.

Stan came over, meeting her eye with concern. “Sheesh! Ms. Rosato, are you guys okay?”

“We're fine, but how are you? What happened to your head?”

“I hit it on the machine. She came at me when I wouldn't let her back inside.” Stan shook his head in disgust. “That woman is straight-up crazy. If she has a beef with you, I'd stay out of her way.”

Jason looked from Stan to Bennie. “That's Richie's
mom
. Is she really crazy?”

“Anyway, it's all over now.” Stan placed a hand on Jason's shoulder, with a reassuring smile. “Pal, you gotta go back to your room. Go get in line with the others, will you?”

“Okay.” Jason shuffled off, joining the others, the last one in the line, his head down and his black cap as round as a period at the end of a very sad sentence.

Bennie stood with the parents, watching their children file out, then the door closed and the kids were gone. Mothers and fathers turned away, glancing over at her, their expressions resentful.

“I'm so … sorry,” Bennie stammered.

“
Slut,
” someone hissed.

 

CHAPTER TWENTY-SEVEN

Bennie passed the afternoon sitting at a table in a nearby bar, watching the sun vanish from the sky through a dirty window outlined with Christmas lights. Her view was a lineup of dark vacant row homes, backgrounded by the adult prison, its concertina wire glittering like tinsel. Stuck into the patch of snow by the road was a white-painted sign,
BAIL BONDS
—
CALL ME FIRST TO PUT U BACK ON THE STREET
.

The bar was empty, and behind her, the bartender hummed tunelessly to himself. The air smelled like stale cigarette smoke, and the floor felt gritty. Dusty holiday lights festooned the paneled walls, and the TV over the bar played a football game on mute. Bennie could watch even though it was behind her, because of its flickering reflection in the window. The Eagles were losing.

Bennie checked her phone, but there was still no call or text from Declan, who had gone with Doreen to the police station. That was about two hours ago, and Bennie killed the time by answering email and calling Matthew. Her call had gone to voicemail, so she'd left a message. She remembered that he was working a double shift, but she wanted to tell him before he heard it from Jason. She'd have to come clean to Matthew about Declan, too, and she hoped he'd understand, in context.

A blast of cold air brought her from her reverie, and she looked over to see Declan entering the bar. He walked over heavily, his posture somewhat stooped, which struck her as unlike him.

“I'm sorry it took so long.” Declan kissed her on the cheek, and Bennie could feel the tension clinging to him like frost.

“Sit down and have something to eat.”

“I'm not hungry.” Declan took off his coat, looking past her to the bartender. “Hey, pal, can I get Yuengling on tap?”

“No problem,” the bartender called back.

Declan sat down heavily opposite Bennie, laying his hand on the table, palm up. “Take my hand, if you're still speaking to me.”

“Of course I am.” Bennie took his hand and squeezed it gently.

“I am so sorry.” Declan met her eye, pained. “I'm so sorry I involved you with this. Forgive me, please.”

“It's not your fault,” Bennie said, touched. “I'm sorry it happened, too. Did the police charge her?”

“No.” Declan looked up as the bartender came over with the beer and set it down. “Thanks, pal.” He nodded at Bennie. “You need anything more?”

“No, I'm fine.”

“Gotcha,” the bartender said, leaving the table.

Declan picked up his beer. “As I was saying, they didn't charge her. The guard decided not to press charges. He said it was an accident. She hit him and he fell backwards.” Declan sipped his beer, frowning. “It took her a long time to calm down. She was a raving lunatic. I've never seen my sister act like that. The kids were beside themselves. It was a nightmare.”

“What do you mean? Who did she rave at?”

“Me. But then it was all over the lot.” Declan raked his hands through his hair. “She screamed at the desk officer. The female uniform who helped settle down the kids. Then the captain came over. She heard him say something about putting her on a psych hold.” Declan's eyes flared. “Oh my God. She called him every name in the book.” Declan put his beer down with a heavy
clunk
, and his mouth formed a downturned line. “I talked them out of the psych hold because she begged me to. It was the only way I could get back in her good graces. But I really think … something's wrong with her.”

“There must be,” Bennie said quietly, having come to the same conclusion.

“I don't know what it is.” Declan rubbed his forehead. “I mean, she's always had a temper. She was always like my mom, hot-blooded. But my mom never did anything like that. I mean, did you see the way she pulled the kids around? That's how she got back inside the detention center without me.”

“How?” Bennie had been wondering.

“I convinced her to let me take them to the car. I didn't want them to hear what she was saying.” Declan stopped talking, clenching his jaw, and Bennie squeezed his hand again.

“I'm sorry.”

“She's sick. She's really sick.” Declan kept working his chin, his voice hushed. “She couldn't control herself today. She couldn't control herself at the station.”

“So now what do we do?”

“If you don't mind, I told her I'd go over there tonight. She's home, now.” Declan sighed heavily, his chest expanding. “We should try to hash it out. We didn't get a chance to talk privately at the station.”

“I don't mind. What do you want to hash out? Hiring a lawyer for Richie?”

“Yes, and I thought I would explain about us. Try to calm her down.”

“Uh-oh.”

“Only that she has to know this didn't come from you. It came from me. That I'm worried about the way she treats Richie.”

“You know, the child psychiatrist I met with told me something interesting. It's common sense, but it might apply here. I don't know, you tell me.”