Carr said, “What?”
“I’m here, with Officer Crane, to see that not one of these small savages attacks you or in any way harms your property,” Jesse said.
“There’s no need to be caustic, Chief Stone,” Miriam Fiedler said. “We are simply trying to maintain the integrity of our property and the safety of our streets.”
Jesse nodded at Nina Pinero, and she gently pushed a little boy forward. Jesse took his hand as he stepped from the bus.
“Meet the enemy,” Jesse said.
The boy was wearing sandals and khaki shorts, and a snow-white T-shirt. Jesse could feel the stiffness in his hand when he held it.
“His name,” Jesse said, “is Roberto Valdez. He was five last week.”
Nina gently directed a little girl from the bus. Jesse took her hand as she stepped down. She had on red sneakers with red-and-white striped laces, and white shorts and a white T-shirt.
“This is Isabel Gomez,” Jesse said. “She won’t be five until later this month.”
He could feel Isabel tremble a little as he held her hand.
“Okay, Isabel,” Jesse said. “You stand with Roberto, right here, beside the bus, behind me.”
“Is this really necessary, Chief Stone?” Miriam Fiedler said.
“Yes, ma’am,” Jesse said. “It is.”
One by one, the kids emerged from the bus and stood fearfully with Jesse for a moment while he introduced them. Finally they were through. Molly got out of the bus and stood with the kids. Nina Pinero got out and stood beside Jesse.
“Chief Stone,” Austin Carr said, “we do not have any animosity toward these children. We would support them, and I mean financially, if they wished to establish a nice school and summer camp in Marshport.”
At the top of the driveway, several young men and women in shorts and T-shirts came out of the house and stood, waiting.
“Staff is in place,” Nina Pinero said to Jesse.
“Okay,” Jesse said. “Follow me, kids.”
“This is outrageous,” Miriam Fiedler said. “We are not a bunch of rabble to be brushed aside.”
“You’re not?” Jesse said.
With Nina Pinero and Molly herding the children behind him, Jesse walked straight through the seersucker circle and up the driveway. Behind him he heard Miriam Fiedler cry out in pain.
He heard Molly say, “Oh, dear, I’m so sorry. I seem to have stepped on your foot.”
Jesse didn’t turn around to look. But he smiled as he led the kids up the driveway.
14.
Wilson Cromartie, in a tan summer suit and a yellow gingham shirt, walked down the center passage of a big mall that had replaced the nineteenth-century brick buildings in the heart of Marshport. There were some shoppers, but the majority of the people in the mall were Hispanic teenagers, in the various costumes of their age group. A number of them were in a store called Images, gazing at the television sets they couldn’t
