Read Steeled for Murder Online
Authors: KM Rockwood
Steeled for Murder (38 page)
The tired social worker finally spoke up. “The children’s mother is here,” she told me. “The children will be released to her. I couldn’t release them to you, anyhow. You’re not a parent. Or a guardian.”
I was surprised she’d even consider that. But I supposed social workers were in the business of viewing all adults with any connection to a child, no matter how tenuous, as a potential caretaker. Or abuser.
“No, ma’am. They should go with their mother.”
I saw Montgomery across the room, looking at me. I hadn’t noticed his entrance.
“Excuse me,” I said to the kids. “I got to go talk to this man here.” I got up and crossed the room to him.
“More children?” he asked, stroking the side of his dark face with his meticulously manicured fingers. “Those aren’t some of the Robinson kids, are they?”
“No, sir. I work with their mother.”
“And the kids know you?”
“I been over their house.”
“I thought you were on home detention.”
“Yeah. But Mr. Ramirez has given me some time off, too. Long as I make my curfew.”
“I left a message for Mr. Ramirez,” Montgomery said. “Hard to explain all this in a voice mail. I imagine you’ll be hearing from him.”
“Yes, sir.” I didn’t have much to add. I wondered if I should be thanking him for heading off Belkins. Or just pretending that hadn’t happened.
“Tell me straight. Are you someone I ought to be worried about with kids?” he asked.
“No, sir.”
“Or women?”
“No, sir.”
“Because there are still some things going on here I haven’t figured out yet. And I’ll tell you right now, Damon. If I find out Belkins is right and anybody, especially kids or women, gets hurt because of you, I won’t rest until your ass is locked up for the rest of your life. At least.”
I wondered how my ass could be locked up for longer than the rest of my life. But I probably didn’t want to know.
“Be sure you’re where we can find you if we want to talk to you.” Montgomery turned and went through a door into the back of the station.
“Jesse!” Brianna launched herself across the room and jumped up against me, clutching at my shirt.
With a grin, I lifted her into my arms. “What, sweetheart?” I asked.
“You gonna come home with us when Mommy gets done talking to the people?” she asked.
“I don’t know about that,” I said, giving her a hug and looking toward Chris, who hung back.
“Damon.”
A commanding voice came from behind me. I turned to look. A uniformed deputy, looking stern. His hand rested on the butt of his gun, which was still in the holster. The holster was unsnapped. Seconds away from being leveled at my chest. Why couldn’t they leave me alone?
Mr. Ramirez lumbered behind him.
Oh, jeez. Not with the kids here.
I put Brianna down. “Go wait by the lady.” I pointed at the social worker.
“I wanna stay with you,” she said, clinging to my leg.
“I need you and Chris to go wait by the lady,” I said urgently. “Do it. Now.”
Looking up at me uncertainly, she didn’t move.
The social worker seemed to wake up to the fact that her charges might be in a precarious position. She hurried over and grabbed Brianna by the arm.
I stepped away from the kids toward the deputy. “I’ll come quietly,” I said. “You don’t need to make a fuss in here.” And please don’t cuff me in front of the kids, I thought.
“Thank you, officer,” Mr. Ramirez said, stepping in front of him. “I appreciate you finding him for me. I can handle it from here.”
“Thanks,” I said to Mr. Ramirez, careful to keep my hands in sight. “I don’t want to scare the kids.” But it was really more that I didn’t want them to see me shackled down. Selfish, I guess.
“I certainly wouldn’t want to do that,” Mr. Ramirez said, glancing past me toward the kids. “Is that their mother?”
I looked over my shoulder. Kelly was lifting Brianna in her arms and hugging Chris to her side. She was still in jeans, work boots, and a sweatshirt. Her work clothes.
“Yeah. That’s their mother.” She would take care of them now. Social services don’t want to be bothered with any kids if they can find a suitable relative to take care of them.
To my horror, she started toward us. “If you’re gonna lock me up, do it quick,” I said. “Don’t traumatize the kids.”
“Don’t want to be embarrassed in front of them? Or your girlfriend?” Mr. Ramirez had an amused grin on his face. He had a good read on the situation.
“She’s not really my girlfriend, but yeah, you get the picture.”
“And why would I be locking you up?” he asked.
I shrugged. “Parole violation?”
“Something I’m not aware of that I should be?” He rubbed the side of his beefy face with his hand.
“Not that I know of,” I said, trying to hedge. I had no idea what he knew and what he didn’t.
“Tell you what,” he said, his eyes narrowing as he looked at me. “When you come in for your next appointment—Thursday, is it?—we can discuss this. Meanwhile, I’ll take you off home detention. Assuming I don’t hear of any more problems from Detective Montgomery or anybody else that leads me to change my mind. We can remove the ankle monitor when you come in. That’ll save you the monitoring fee. How does that sound?”
Was this some kind of a joke? “Why are you gonna do that?” I blurted out. I wondered if my ears were playing tricks on me.
He raised his eyebrows. “Some reason why I shouldn’t?”
“No, sir. I just didn’t expect that. Not with all the times I’ve been pulled in lately.”
“And I think you pretty much cooperated every time, didn’t you?”
I wondered if he’d discussed that with Montgomery or Belkins. But I wasn’t going to argue. “I tried to, sir,” I said.
“And now I understand that they’ve arrested someone else for Mitch Robinson’s murder. Right?”
“I think so.” I hoped so.
“Seems to me that, if you were going to take off, you would have done so a while ago. But you’ve reported every time you were supposed to, you’re working a steady job, you’re making friends—” he nodded at Kelly, who had come up to stand a few feet away “—so I think you’re a pretty good risk. And if you did decide to abscond, I wouldn’t expect electronic monitoring to stop you. What do you think?”
“I think you’re right, sir,” I said, licking my suddenly dry lips. “I’ll report whenever you tell me to.”
Brianna, in Kelly’s arms, reached over and grabbed me around the neck. “Hold me,” she said.
I shifted her weight to my arms. Kelly put her arm around Chris and pulled him closer to her side.
“Next Thursday. Regular appointment,” Mr. Ramirez said.
“Thank you, sir,” I said.
He nodded and walked back toward the offices.
Brianna hugged my neck.
“They called me at work,” Kelly said. “Fred got in an accident. DUI. At four in the morning. With the kids in the car.”
I nodded.
“They could have been killed. I’m hoping this will be the end of unsupervised visitation for him.”
“Could be,” I agreed. “You gonna push that?”
“Yep. I’ll call the lawyer as soon as we get home.”
“Sounds like a plan.” I started to shift Brianna back over to her mother’s arms, but the child clung tight to my neck.
“Do you wanna come home with us?” Kelly said. “If I understood what he was saying right, you’re off monitoring.”
“True, that.”
“And these kids need to get some sleep. I’m gonna get them home to bed.” She took me by the arm and started toward the front door.
“They do look tired.” I brushed Brianna’s hair back from her forehead and put her back on the floor. “You two aren’t gonna leave the teddy bears sitting here by themselves, are you?”
She and Chris scampered across the room to get them.
Kelly gave me a meaningful look. “Then maybe we ought to do the same. Get to bed.”
Familiar dread rose in my chest.
“Kelly…” How could I say this? “I just thought you should know, I don’t know how…I mean, I got locked up when I was pretty young. I’ve never, you know…”
“Been with a woman?” she finished for me. “Then isn’t it about time you learned?” She stood on her tiptoes and kissed my cheek.
The kids raced back, teddy bears safely in their arms.
I felt a foolish grin spread across my face. “Now that sounds like a plan to me,” I said.
About the Author
KM Rockwood has a diverse background including working as a laborer in a steel fabrication plant, operating glass melters and related equipment in a fiberglass manufacturing facility, and supervising an inmate work crew in a large medium security state prison. These jobs, as well as work as a special education teacher in an alternative high school and a GED teacher in county detention facilities, provide most of the basis for novels and short stories.
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