Silt, Denver Cereal Volume 8 (19 page)

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Authors: Claudia Hall Christian

BOOK: Silt, Denver Cereal Volume 8
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A lot of people,” Jacob
said.


Then we’re pulling out,”
Sam said. “I don’t care if we use every penny we have to do it. I
will not continue knowing our folks will be injured or killed.
That’s just not the way I do business.”

Startled by Sam’s sudden intensity, Aden and
Jacob turned to face him.


I hate the selfish.
Always have, always will.” Sam raised his hand to the sky. “Sorry
Celia. I said the word ‘hate’ and I mean it. I hate people who
think only of themselves. They’re so competitive they don’t care
what they do to other people as long as they win at whatever dumb
game only they know they’re playing.”

Jacob nodded.


Are you with me?” Sam
asked.


I am,” Jacob
said.


Whatever I can do,” Aden
said.


Then we start tomorrow,”
Sam said. “One employee at a time.”


I’ll get the map from
Jeraine,” Jacob said.


I’ll call a site
manager’s meeting for tomorrow,” Aden said. “After the sites are
up?”


Before,” Sam said. “We’ll
start late.”

Aden touched Sam’s arm and left to go make
the calls.


Are you all right, Dad?”
Jacob asked.


No, I’m not,” Sam said.
“Those bastards said they would ruin us and
now . . . We’ve invited all these good, hardworking
people to have a little financial freedom. How hard is that? But
these jerks . . .”


Don’t think about it,
Dad,” Jacob said.

Sam looked at Jacob for a long moment before
nodding.


Mr. Sam?” Ivy asked. “I
didn’t mean to interrupt but I wonder if . . . Well,
Delphie told me you knew her when she was little and I
wondered . . .”

Seeing the child’s face, Sam immediately
brightened.


I sure did,” Sam said.
“In fact, I bet I have some photos.”


They’re in your room,”
Jacob said. “Second shelf from the top.”


Wow,” Ivy beamed. “Do you
ever get used to the psychics?”


He put them there,” Sam
laughed.


We moved Dad out for a
while to do some repairs on his room,” Jacob said. “We just moved
him back.”


And no, I’ve never gotten
used to it,” Sam said.


Why don’t I get the
photos and you guys can talk?” Jacob asked.

He went into the house. Aden was talking on
the phone in the kitchen. Jacob took in Aden’s worried face. He
nodded to Aden before going into his father’s room.

This birch room had been the first room he’d
discovered in this castle of a house, and it was the room his
mother had died in. It had a wonderful, loving energy. For a
moment, he closed his eyes and tried to let the room work on his
anxiety.


It’s going to be fine,”
he heard his mother’s voice in his head. “Trust people.”

He picked up the photos and left the
room.

~~~~~~~~

Wednesday afternoon—2:47 p.m.

 

Yesterday, Charlie had felt like a hero.
He’d gone to the police station, dealt with probation, even hung
out with his cool lawyer.

Today, he felt like a scared kid.

Wondering if he could really pull this off,
he sat on the steps near the side door to the Castle. Mike came
around the corner with Jacob’s Labrador and Jill’s childhood dog.
In the last month or so, Mike had been training heavy. His sheer
bulk took up much of the small room. Charlie had asked him why he
was working out so much. He’d just said that Charlie would figure
it out when his wife was nine months pregnant. Charlie had no idea
what that meant, but he liked that Mike talked to him like a grown
up. Charlie looked up at him.


I can go with you,” Mike
said.


I’m supposed to go by
myself,” Charlie said.


You really doing a great
thing, an important thing . . .” Mike stopped
talking when Charlie sneered. “Yeah, I hate that crap too. You’re
doing what you have to do.”

Charlie nodded.


I have to walk the dogs.”
Mike gestured to the yellow Labrador and the muttish Scooter. “Jill
can’t walk Scooter anymore and Sarah loves being with her old
friend.”


What about
Buster?”


I figured you wouldn’t be
caught dead with that ugly dog,” Mike grinned.


Hey!” Charlie jumped up
from the stair. “That’s
my
dog you’re talking about.”


I thought he was Noelle’s
dog,” Mike said.


Noelle can’t do this.”
Charlie whistled and Buster scrambled around the corner to him.
Charlie leaned over to pet him.


How ‘bout we walk to the
dog park together?” Mike asked. “It’s a block from the school. I’ll
stay there with the dogs and you can meet me after
practice.”


Yeah, that would be
okay,” Charlie said.


Thanks for doing me this
favor, man,” Mike said. “I really appreciate it.”

Charlie smirked at Mike’s sarcastic comment.
He took a leash from the rack near the door. Mike pointed to the
stack of bags and Charlie grabbed a few bags. Mike opened the door
and the dogs jettisoned out to the patch of lawn. Charlie followed
the dogs and Mike locked the door. Charlie picked up after Buster
and then put the leash on the dog.

They crossed the street to avoid the
paparazzi and turned right on Sixteenth Avenue. One of the things
Charlie liked about Mike was that he didn’t believe in unnecessary
chatter. They walked along in easy silence. They dodged traffic
across York Street and stopped at the light on Josephine. As they
set out across Josephine, Charlie remembered why he was so
anxious.

Each step brought him closer to the guys who
had raped and almost killed Tink. Out of the corner of his eye, he
saw the other guy who was in online high school whiz by on his
bike.

Mike stopped at the dog park and turned to
Charlie. He held out his hand for Buster’s lead. With a nod,
Charlie handed over the leash and set out to walk the long block to
school. He jogged across the Esplanade and plunged into the dark
school. Stepping into the gym, he saw his probation officer waiting
for him.


You’re late,” she
sneered. The probation officer held up a plastic jar for him to pee
in.

The only thing Charlie could think of to say
was “It begins,” so he kept his mouth shut.

 

Chapter Two Hundred and
Thirty-Three
Problem

 

Wednesday evening—5:45 p.m.

 


And don’t be late,” the
coach pointed to Charlie. “I don’t give a crap if you’re peeing in
a jar or standing on your head. You’re here on time or you don’t
play.”


Yes Coach,” Charlie
said.


Now get out of here,” the
coach said.

Charlie hung his head and slunk out of the
gym. The rest of the team had already left practice. He’d had to do
extra exercises and drills because he was late. Or that’s what the
coach had said. Charlie glanced back at the man and caught a
worried look on the coach’s face. He wondered if the guy knew what
he was doing. He was about to turn around to ask when the coach
grabbed the net full of the balls and left for the locker room.

Charlie didn’t want to go to the locker
room.

He continued down the hallway to the outside
door. Caught up in his own world, he pushed the door open and
walked down the steps. He’d already crossed the Esplanade when the
other online school guy cut Charlie off with his bike.


I don’ want no trouble.”
Charlie didn’t bother to look up. He stepped around the bike and
kept walking.


Hey,” the other guy
said.

Charlie looked up at him.


I want to talk to you.”
The kid was following Charlie.


Grab a
number.”

Charlie’s voice reminded him of Eeyore. When
he was first getting sober, Pete used to repeat everything he said
in Eeyore’s voice. Charlie smirked and stopped walking.


What?” Charlie turned
around abruptly and startled the guy.


I . . .
um . . .” The kid looked a little scared and
flustered.

Charlie scowled and turned around again.


My sister killed
herself,” the kid said.

Charlie turned around to look at him.


I saw
you . . .” the kid said.

Charlie took two steps toward the boy. All
of his frustration, shame, and rage came forward. He was ready to
kill the kid.

“ 
. . . at
the police station.” The boy swallowed hard. “My parents and I. The
police . . . um . . . they came to
our house and said we had to come see a guy and it was
you.”

Charlie sneered at the kid.


I told
them . . . I did . . . that you were
okay,” the kid said. “A little high strung, but okay.”


Why were
you
there?” Charlie
asked.


My sister killed
herself,” the kid said.


What’s that got to do
with anything?”


She
was . . . you know . . . and
she . . .” The boy swallowed hard. If Charlie
weren’t so mad, he would have felt sorry for him. “Well, you know.
She never got over it.”


Oh,” Charlie said.
“Sorry.”


She would have died,” the
boy said. “You know, that night. But you found her. That’s what she
said, ‘A kid named Pan and his friends found me, gave me a blanket,
and . . . He stayed with me, held my hand, until
somebody took me to the hospital.’”

Charlie looked away from the boy. He never
would have thought of it, but now that the boy said something,
Charlie remembered the boy’s sister.


Was that you?” the boy
asked.

Charlie gave him a curt nod.


Will
you . . . I mean . . . Can you tell
me what you know?” the kid asked.

Charlie’s eyes scanned the boy’s face and
body. The boy was caught in the kind of desperate grief that
Charlie knew all too well.


We don’t know anything.”
The boy’s voice came out in an insistent whisper.
“Nothing.”

Charlie watched him struggle with his own
memory.


You’re all she
remembered,” he said. “I mean, except for some of what happened.
She would have died wherever that was, but . . .
That’s what the doctor said. She had brain damage and was scarred
on her face.”

The boy put his hand to his face.


And . . .
you know, other places.” The boy put his hand on his belly and
legs.


My mom was sure she’d get
better, but my dad . . . and
I . . .”

The boy looked up at Charlie.


I just miss her,” the boy
said.

Not sure what to say, Charlie looked over
the kid’s head at the school.


I found her,” the boy
whispered.

Charlie’s eyes jerked to the boy’s face.


Hanging.” The boy nodded.
“I knew she was going to do it. I did.
But . . .”

The boy shrugged.


I just miss her,” the boy
repeated.


Charlie?” Mike’s voice
came from behind him.

The boy jerked with surprise. He grabbed his
bike to ride off and then saw Buster. The shock of seeing such an
ugly dog made the boy stop.


That’s one ugly dog!” the
boy laughed.

Buster nudged the boy’s leg and then nudged
him so hard he fell over, bike and all. The boy giggled while
Buster wiggled and wagged and licked the boy’s face. Sarah, Jake’s
yellow Labrador, wagged over the boy. As if to say, “What can you
do with these kids?” Scooter sat down next to Charlie.


Okay, okay,” Mike
said.

Mike pulled Buster back from the boy.
Charlie got his bike. As soon as the boy sat up, Buster went back
to licking his face. Charlie whistled and Buster sat down. The dog
had a huge grin on his face. Sarah looked over the boy to make sure
he was all right. Just in case the boy might pet her, Sarah sat
right under his hand.


Are these your dogs?” the
boy grinned.


This one,” Charlie nodded
to Buster.


I know you,” the boy said
to Mike. “You’re Valerie Lipson’s husband. The artist. My sister
loves her. Says she’s so pretty
and . . .”

The boy swallowed hard. He grabbed his bike
to ride off.


Who’s your friend,
Charlie?” Mike slapped the back of Charlie’s head.


I don’t know,” Charlie
said. “What’s your name?”


Tim,” the boy blushed.
“Tim Logan.”


Nice to meet you, Tim,”
Mike said. “I’m Mike Roper. This is Buster. That’s Sarah and this
really good dog is Scooter.”

Scooter looked up at the boy.


We were just heading back
for dinner,” Mike said. “Would you like to join us?”


Sure!” The boy
beamed.


Do you want to bring your
sister?” Mike asked. “It’s not anything fancy, but I know Val would
like to meet any friend of Charlie’s.”


My
sister’s . . . um,” Tim’s face fell.
“She . . .”

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