Switch Master: 6 (Ink and Kink) (6 page)

“Dealers aren’t always in the inner cities,” Taran said.

“Don’t I know it? Sadly, because of Walker’s stupidity, Luke
and his two half-sisters, Faith and Leah, were removed from the home and placed
with child protective services.”

“Was there abuse?”

“Not physical, but definite neglect. The girls’ mother,
Daria, was passed out on the bathroom floor, OD’d. Medics at the scene found
the girls hiding in a closet. They were scared because they couldn’t wake their
mom and didn’t know where their dad was.”

“Where was Luke? Do you know?”

“He told me he was at a friend’s house when the explosion
happened. He heard the blast and ran home.”

“How old was Luke at the time?”

“Fourteen.”

“Where’s he been since?”

“Luke’s mother died when he was younger. After his father
was arraigned Luke was placed in the care of his mother’s older sister, Glenda
Davis.”

“Where’d his sisters go?”

“They were placed in foster care after Daria was declared
unfit by the courts. She was ordered into rehab if she wanted to get her
children back. I’ve done a thorough background search on the foster family, Bob
and Sandy Marshall. They’re good people and have gone on to adopt two of the
children they’ve fostered.”

“It sounds to me as if you’ve done some fine detective work
on this situation, Samantha. But tell me, how’d you meet Luke?”

“I met him right after the Alexandria Griffins championship
game in Houston. He liked hanging out at the indoor skateboarding park at the
Roller Emporium. At first, he seemed to want me to think the only thing he
cared about was his skateboard, but in fact I saw so much more.”

“What did you see?”

“Potential, especially after I’d witnessed him getting
beaten up because he’d stood up for a girl in the rink parking lot. I flashed
my badge and the punks took off running.”

“You stood up for Luke.”

“He needed help. He stood up to bullies and got a black eye
for it.”

“You did the right thing.”

“Luke’s really not a bad kid. He needs a strong male role
model. That’s why I recommended he speak with you. I can’t think of any man
better than you.”

“Thanks. He’s lucky to have you in his corner. I’m going to
make sure he knows it too. Anything else I should know?”

“After the fight with the bullies, he started hanging around
the Femme Fatales instead of the skateboarders. He drew pictures of us during
practices and he became this quiet kid who’s worried about losing touch with
his sisters and his aunt.”

“He told you all that?” Taran asked.

“Most of it, yes,” she said proudly. “Once he opened up, I
was able to gather information through a little armchair detective work. Luke
and the Fatales are the reasons I took so much vacation time, truth be told.”

They’d reached the road that would lead them to the rink and
Taran drove up the incline that curved around Jordan’s and into the parking lot
of the Framingham Roller Emporium. A minute later, he found an unclaimed
parking spot and put the truck in park.

He kept the engine running and faced Sam. Neon lights from
the well-lit building reflected in his gray eyes. Fascinated, she cocked her
head to the side, enjoying the way he seemed to be listening attentively.

“How does Luke feel about his sisters being in foster care?”

“He’s relieved they are not in his stepmother’s care. He’d
like to visit them more often, but he doesn’t have money to take a bus. He
tried to get a job at the roller rink or at the Natick Mall.”

“I take it the job search didn’t work out?”

“No, sadly, he has sold some of his sketches. Rink and mall
management didn’t care for that and put a stop to it.”

“Do Leah and Faith have a relationship with their father?”

“Not as far as I know. Their foster parents have gone to
court to keep legal guardianship.”

“Luke’s all right with that?”

“Yes, if Faith and Leah are with the Marshalls, he knows
they’re safe from their father and Daria.”

“If Russell’s in prison, he shouldn’t be a problem.”

“He’s obtained a new attorney to handle his appeal. He’s now
claiming he was railroaded into a plea deal by an incompetent defense.”

“Do you know who his new defense attorney is? Overturning a
plea deal is extremely difficult though not impossible.”

“Bernard Harcourt,” Sam answered.

Taran whistled. “Harcourt has a team of lawyers and legal
assistants at his disposal. His reputation for getting the worst offenders off
or overturning verdicts is legendary.”

“Yeah, I know him. Ethan and I’ve had to deal with him a
time or two, fortunately neither of us had any of our cases thrown out or
evidence questioned.”

“What happened with Luke’s stepmother?”

“Soon after Russell went to prison, she filed for divorce
but has since withdrawn and visits him as often as is permitted by law.”

“Is she clean?”

“According to my sources, she went through rehab and her
lawyer sent Brenda Davis notice that Daria Walker is ready to go to court to
get her girls back, as well as retain guardianship of Luke. She has a job as a
nail technician at a beauty salon in Downtown Crossing.”

“Do you know where she’s living?”

“Trendy little place in Beacon Hill.”

“On a nail tech’s salary, I don’t think so. Harcourt’s time
doesn’t come cheap, Sam, nor does an appeal. I’m going to need you to dig
further into her background. How’s she earning enough money to afford two
attorneys?”

“Already started looking into it, there’s something about
Daria that doesn’t add up.”

“Has Russell made attempts to contact his son?” Taran asked.

“Some, yes,” Sam answered. “His new lawyer is apparently
pressuring Luke to visit Russell more often. So far, Luke doesn’t want anything
to do with his father.”

“Harcourt probably wants Russell to look like an upstanding
family man in the eyes of an appellate court,” Taran commented.

“That’s what I think. There’s more.”

“Go on.”

“Luke claims he’ll run away if Daria is able to convince a
judge she’s clean and orders him to reconnect with his stepmother, even if it’s
supervised visitation, which would likely be the first step. That scares me,
Taran. Ethan and I spend our days and many of our nights working to bring
runaways and the missing back to their families. I can’t lose Luke to the
streets, Taran.”

“You won’t lose him, Sam. I’ll be sure of it.”

“Thank you,” she replied, glad she’d turned to Taran.

“Can you tell me anything else I should know? Grades,
interests, any habit that could affect a judge’s decision to remove him from
his current home?” Taran asked.

“Art is his passion, but his grades are terrible. He’s
already had to repeat the ninth grade because his father’s arrest and
conviction caused him to miss most of the year. If any of the Femme Fatales
offer to help him with his studies, he shuts us down.”

Taran turned his head to the side a little, seeming to be
thinking about what she’d told him so far. “Do you like him?”

Sam grinned, sighing a little, finally answering. “I like
him very much. When he smiles, he lights up a room. He defended a girl from a
trio of bullies. Instead of buying himself a cell phone with the money he
earned from his artwork, he gave it to his aunt.”

“How do you know that?”

“I’ve taken Glenda for coffee a few times. She’s kind and
she doesn’t want him to be returned to his father, definitely not his
stepmother. She simply can’t afford a legal battle, should Daria’s and
Russell’s attorneys press the matter.”

“If you like him, it’s enough for me to provide the best
legal counsel I can.”

“You’re a good person, Taran. With you in his corner, Luke
will be fine.”

“Your confidence means a lot,” Taran said, turning the truck
off and taking the keys from the ignition. “Wait there a sec.”

Sam waited until he exited the driver’s side and came around
to hers. Opening the door for her, he swept one arm toward her.

“Our destination awaits, my lady. Shall I go slay your
dragons?”

“I don’t need dragon slaying, Sir Maddox,” she replied,
unable to stop smiling.

“I beg to differ. You’ve needed a knight for a very long
time. It will be my pleasure to serve you and earn your favor.” Playfully, he
bowed at the waist in such a courtly manner that she could imagine him in a
knight’s regalia.

“You’re so weird.” Crazily enough, she got a kick out of
Taran’s antics. Letting him take her hand, she was impressed when he guided her
out of the cab and safely to the ground.

Partially melted piles of snow dotted the parking lot. For
the most part, the snow was gray and sooty, but ice-crusted puddles had formed
around the snow packs and made for tricky walking. Her personal knight made it
his mission to tuck her close to his side and navigate the parking lot without
once stepping on ice.

She didn’t point out that the lot was also covered in a
thick layer of sand and she wasn’t in danger of slipping. Men just didn’t do
things like this for her. It was nice to be taken care of for a change.

Inside the roller rink, the familiar sights, sounds and
smells of the place the Femme Fatales called home greeted them. For a Friday
night, the usual teenage crowd had gathered inside. In a far corner, there was
a birthday party going on. In another, there was a gang of middle school kids trying
to be cool.

The walkway to the indoor skateboard park was in the very
back. Many of the high school kids tended to hang out in that area.

Sam looked around, finding two of her teammates seated at a
big table in the refreshment stand. Across from Bella and Teri was Luke, a
sandy-brown-haired teen in need of a trim and a little bit of acne cream for a
few marks on his face. As it had the first time she’d met him standing up
against bullies, her heart softened, helping her see his potential.

He wore jeans and a black Hot Topic tee shirt with an
obscure band decal. On the table before him was an ever-present sketchpad.
Under the table, she suspected he’d have his skateboard that was his primary
source of transportation and his backpack.

“There he is,” Sam said to Taran, pointing toward the snack
stand.

“I see him,” Taran assured, staying at her side, his arm
firmly around her waist as they walked over to the refreshment stand.

Luke looked up upon their approach, smiling at her warmly
but then glaring when he saw Taran.

“Thought you were bringing a suit not a boy toy,” he said,
barely bothering to hide his sneer.

“Luke!” Sam corrected, stunned. “Taran’s here to help you.”

“Callin’ it as I see it,” Luke remarked, standing halfway
up, his hand on his sketchpad.

“I got this one,” Taran whispered, not letting go of her.
“My name’s Taran Maddox. You must be Luke Walker. Despite the lack of a suit,
I’m the best there is at helping you out, son.”

“Don’t call me son,” Luke warned, flashing a temper she’d
not seen from him before.

“If you want my help, apologize for being rude to Sam just
now,” Taran insisted, refusing to back down or show any sense of intimidation.
“She’s your friend, she doesn’t deserve the attitude.”

“In case you didn’t know it, you got your arm around her,”
the boy accused.

“I assure you, if she objected, she’d let me know. I’d lose
the attitude if you want the two of us to stay.”

Luke looked back and forth between Sam and Taran. For a
second, she thought he was going to bolt. Taran did not move his hand away from
her waist or cave in to the teenage boy’s attempt to stare him down.

About a second or two went by before Luke said, “Sorry,
Sam.”

He reclaimed his seat and sat there looking like he’d just
gotten dragged through the mud.

“It’s all right,” she said and he lifted his brown eyes.

“It’s not right to be rude. Your boyfriend’s right. You’ve
been nothing but nice to me.”

“How about we backtrack and start over, Luke?” Taran
interrupted.

“Sir?” Luke turned his eyes to Taran.

“Call me Taran,” Taran said, offering a hand.

It took a minute for Luke to accept Taran’s hand. They shook
briefly before Luke withdrew his hand and tucked it beneath the table.

Teri and Bella giggled a little when Taran let go of Sam
long enough to take his jacket off. Even in a long-sleeved shirt, his muscles
bunched and bulged nicely, making anyone within a couple of yards see that he
was ripped.

Continuing with his gentlemanly behavior from the parking
lot, he assisted her with her motorcycle jacket, getting more giggles from ladies
who’d been practicing at acting badass in public. Roller derby was as much
about attitude as it was about jamming, blocking and skating fast.

“You’re one of the Maddox brothers Sam talks about all the
time, aren’t you?” Teri asked, her big blue eyes glued on Taran. “Your brother
Phalen put a security system at our apartment complex. Ethan’s her partner. We
haven’t met him yet. We hear his wife’s pregnant.”

At the moment, Teri wore a Femme Fatale tee shirt and her
makeup was sedate and modest. Few would guess that the team’s jammer and
smallest of the Femme Fatales was tough enough to allow her teammates to whip
her around another team’s blockers and score.

“That’s right. Phalen and Ethan are married and I’m a couple
months away from being an uncle twice over. I’m Taran, nice to meet you, and
you are?”

“I’m Teri, better known as the Terinator,” the small
brunette said.

“I’m Bella, Bella Fry, you know, like belfry?” Bella
introduced herself. “I’m a blocker.”

As a blocker, Bella was the perfect combination of strength
and steadfast precision, as well as a bombshell. Statuesque, blonde, built in
all the right places and curvy, she frequently got the crowd rooting for the
team during practices.