“Did you lose everything?”
“Will your insurance pay for it?”
“Where will you live?”
There was also lots of support.
“We’re glad you’re okay.”
“If we can do anything, let us know.”
I thanked everyone.
I found Staff Sergeant Motley in his office.
“Jon?” he said getting up. “Come in, have a seat.”
I sat.
“I read it in the morning papers,” he said. “I tried contacting you.”
“I haven’t been answering my cell phone,” I said.
He waited. I stared around the familiar office. It looked the same. It was bare, but homely. I clearly remembered the times I had come in and had long talks with the sergeant. He always tried to solve my problems.
Now I had a problem. I said, “I kind of screwed up.”
He waited.
“And I was hoping if I could…”
“Yes, of course,” he said. “You can come back whenever you want. I’ll talk to Sergeant Aldrich and we could arrange for your transfer back.”
Sergeant Motley didn’t even ask how I had screwed up. He knew what I wanted and he was there to provide it.
“But not now,” I said.
“Whenever you are ready,” he answered.
“Business good at my route?” I said, inquiring about my old shift.
“Not as good as it used to be,” he smiled.
I got up. “I have to go.”
He opened a drawer and pulled out a white envelope. “All the guys chipped in to help you get through.” He handed it to me.
The envelope was thick and bulky. Without looking inside, I placed it in my pocket.
“Thank you, sir.”
I closed the door and found Roberta standing in the hall. Without saying a word she hugged me. “Jon, I’m so glad you’re okay.”
I nodded, feeling like a wounded warrior.
“Do you want to talk?” she asked.
I nodded.
We went to a deli across the street. A few minutes of silence had passed when she said, “Do you want to tell me everything?”
I nodded and told her exactly what had happened. She didn’t understand most of it but she didn’t interrupt me.
“I’m glad you are not hurt,” she said when I had finished.
I leaned back and rubbed my temples. “I don’t know what to do. This has been the worst time of my life. It’s all happened so fast. This is not what I had expected my life to be. I’m homeless, Roberta.”
“Don’t say that,” she said. “At least you’re alive.”
“You know, what I don’t understand is why would they put me, the guy who gives tickets, on a so-called major drug team. On top of that, I don’t understand how come no one has heard of RACE.”
“What’s RACE?”
“Exactly. Radical Association of Criminal Ethnicities. Have you ever heard of it? No. Even Joey had never heard of it, and he was working with them. Cal Murray didn’t know who we were talking about when we were at the House of Jam. Only people who actually thought this so-called group existed were Aldrich and Beadsworth. And…” I stopped. I went silent.
“Jon?” I heard her say.
I was staring at the table. I was trying desperately to remember everything that had happened. Exact words, certain body movements, precise images, they were now all important to me.
I looked up. “I have to go.”
“Jon, are you okay?”
“I’m glad we had this talk,” I said and walked out of the deli. I needed fresh air. I needed to recollect and reprocess everything in my mind. So much I had ignored before was so important now.
I stopped right in the middle of the sidewalk.
No. I couldn’t start making any conclusions until I was certain. I needed to start at the beginning.
TWENTY-FIVE
The first batch of Nex did not turn out as planned. The ingredients reacted negatively to the process. The combination had to be precise. After being frozen, the tablets formed a glassy solid, and once dried, the structure collapsed. Another batch was prepared immediately.
I knocked and a black kid opened the door. He looked at me attentively and then another, much taller kid, came rushing over.
“Theo, I told you never to open the door,” said the older one.
“Hey, Voshon,” I said.
I was back in Regent Park.
Voshon looked at me with searching eyes, “You’re the guy with Officer Beadsworth.” He stuck his head out into the hall. “Is Officer Beadsworth coming?”
“No, I came alone. Can I talk to you?”
“Yeah, sure, come in.”
The apartment was pretty much empty, except for the sofa and a few other items.
“You moving?” I asked.
“Yeah, we got a place on Chester. One bedroom only, but the rent’s good.”
“I need some information,” I started. “Has anyone suspicious come by here lately? I mean in Regent Park?”
“In Regent Park everyone’s suspicious,” he said, smiling.
I waited.
“Hey, man,” he said. “I don’t know nothing. You learn to mind your own business.”
“When you moving?” I said.
“We’ll be gone in a couple of days.”
“Then you won’t mind helping me out,” I said.
He looked away. He looked at his little brother. “What’re you looking for?”
“Anything,” I said.
“There is this guy,” Voshon said scratching his head. “Wears a large fur coat-even in the summer-tries to act like he owns the place. If anyone knows anything it would be him.”
“What’s his name?”
“Marcus, I think.”
