Chapter Two: Shit Don't Stick
Several hours later, Sarah was awakened out of a dead sleep. She heard someone yelling "Help!" She paused a moment to determine if it was just a part of her dream, but she couldn't remember her dream. Then she heard it again, and it was Holder. Sarah jumped up, pulled the clock toward her so she could see the time, then hurried into the living room where she had left Holder. He wasn't on the sofa, so she turned on a lamp to see where he was. She then heard him yelling again from the corner of the room. "Holder, what are you doing?" she whispered loudly as she walked over to him.
Holder was sleeping on the floor between the desk and wall, continuing to mumble in his sleep.
Sarah couldn't decipher his words. He continued to mumble then called out for help again. "What the hell memory has been awakened in you Holder?" she whispered. She continued to stare at his sleeping form lying on the wooden floor in the corner of her living room. As a child in various foster homes, she had seen kids doing this quite often. These kids were the damaged goods, the unadoptable ones with too much baggage for even the biggest of Bible thumpers to take on. He must have suffered a lot more than he had let on to her. She went to the couch and retrieved the pillow and blanket. Lifting his sleeping head from the floor, she inserted the pillow underneath then put the blanket over his exposed arms. She then went back to bed. It would be daylight soon, and they both needed as much sleep as possible.
In the morning, Holder awakened to the smell of coffee.
Sarah watched him as he first looked around then got up off the floor, letting the blanket slip from his body and land onto the floor over the pillow. He yawned as he walked toward her.
"Oh snap, Detective Linden cooked breakfast for me," he teased.
"Don't get too excited; it's only toast," she responded.
Holder smiled up at her as she poured him a cup of coffee and scooted the sugar bowl and milk toward him.
"Do you want jelly? I have strawberry," Sarah offered.
"Naw, plain's fine," he answered.
"Do you have something against strawberries?"
"Not a fan," Holder stated as he spread butter and dipped his fingers into the sugar bowl and dropped sugar onto his toast. Sarah couldn't imagine even Jack doing something like that, but she said nothing as she scooted a spoon forward, which landed against the sugar bowl with a clink. Holder picked up the spoon and dipped it into the bowl, understanding that that was Sarah's way of telling him to keep his fingers out of the bowl.
"You like the floor?" Sarah asked.
Holder's facial expression changed, and his eyes grew larger. "Man, I need a cigarette. Ya know, the first one of the day is always the best." He retrieved his pack and flicked a cig into his mouth and lit up. Taking a long inhale, Holder looked satisfied.
"Yep," Sarah responded, deciding not to push him. "The first one of the day is always the best." She didn't need confirmation from him that he must have endured abuse as a child. "You going to be able to handle this case?" she asked after a few moments of silence.
"I'm cool, Linden."
"Just checking," she replied.
They finished eating and headed to the precinct. "Let me take lead on questioning the man? His prints in the system have him as some low-life gangster, and the woman is just some crank-head. The kid was hers but not his."
"Figured," Holder said.
Yeah?"
"Yeah. These moms never really know the baby-daddies. They just put out for the drugs."
Linden exhaled and shook her head from side to side as she drove toward the station.
"Anyways, it don't take no scientist to see that the boy was white, so that black crank-head couldn't be that boy's pops.
Linden paused then said, "Listen, Holder. I need to know that you can handle this…cause if it's too…"
"I told you I'm fine," Holder said in a more aggressive tone. He had never used that tone with Sarah, so it took her aback.
"Okay," Sarah said as she paused a few moments. "But if you pull a stunt like you did last night, then I'm having the lieutenant pull you from the case. I'll get another partner on this one and have you assigned to desk duty."
"Yo, you wouldn't pull that shit on me…would ya boss?"
"Try me," Sarah answered as she turned to give Holder her most intimidating look. It had always worked on Jack, so she decided to use it on Holder at that moment.
"Oh Snap! Linden gettin' pissy."
Sarah turned back toward him and smiled a broad smile. They locked eyes for an instance, reassuring one another that they had each other's backs.
Once inside, Holder veered off into their office as Sarah proceeded down the hall toward the interrogation room. As he thumbed through the file left on Linden's desk by the CSU team, his stomach clenched when he saw the name of the crank-head partying with the dead boy's mother.
DeVian Solomon.
"Damn…the Solomon family," Holder said aloud to himself.
DeVian Solomon was the nephew of the current Black Disciple leader.
He wasn't a wannabe ganster like they had all thought. This guy, by the nature of his birthright, was a member of one of the most vicious and feared gangs in all of Washington.
Holy fuckin shit," Holder said to himself. He sat down at the desk not knowing what to do and where to turn first.
Having spent most of his youth in the King County area, Holder knew a lot about the Solomon family, which had deep roots in the Black Disciples back in Chicago. It was well known that it was the Solomon family who brought the Black Disciples to Washington. Even Holder knew to regard the Solomons with reverence and consternation.
And Sarah was all alone down the hall with a Solomon.
"Fuck," Holder yelled as he got up to go to the interrogation room to join her. She would be pissed at first, but he would explain as soon as he could get her alone.
"Linden," Holder said in a breathy voice.
"Not now," Sarah snapped, turning away from DeVian to scowl at Holder. "I'm busy right now."
"I need ya right now," Holder responded.
Sarah turned back toward DeVian Solomon, ignoring her partner.
Holder then came forward to sit beside his partner.
DeVian, who had barely acknowledged Linden, turned to stare at Holder. "Whut up, brother?"
Holder dropped his eyes to the table for a few seconds then looked back up to face DeVian. "I ain't your brother," Holder said in a deep, slow voice as he glared at DeVian.
"Whut ever, man," DeVian responded. "Gotta be play acting for your little be-atch here."
It took Sarah a few seconds to comprehend that she had just been referred to as a bitch.
"I know you did it," Holder said.
"And I be knowin that you a dirty po-po," DeVian answered as he smiled broadly, exposing his gold-lined teeth.
Both Linden and Holder breathed in heavily.
"That skanky crank-ho musta dun what you accusin' me of. I ain't no ba-ba killer."
"Come on, we need to step out," Linden said as she grabbed Holder's elbow.
Holder obliged.
"Hey…po-po tweaker… Ya think I dunno who you is," DeVian yelled out as Holder and Linden knocked on the door to be let out. "I been knowin you, bro! Ain't nobody here know you, Holder?"
At the sound of his name, Holder could feel his stomach twist. He needed a cigarette.
As they got out of the room, Linden grabbed Holder's elbow again and pulled him down the hall away from the interrogation room so they wouldn't be heard. Holder put a cigarette in his mouth and lit up. "What the hell is going on Holder?" she whispered loudly, moving forward to try and get as close into Holder's face as possible.
"He ain't no wannabe…he's a Solomon," Holder answered.
"So?" Linden whispered, getting even closer into Holder's face.
Holder took a step back, uncomfortable with how close Sarah was in his face. "The Solomons…" he said, pausing to gauge Sarah's response.
Sarah pulled up her shoulders and hands and exaggerated her eyes into a frustrated look. "So? Is that supposed to mean something to me?"
"For real?" Holder responded. "You been livin' under a rock or somthin' all your life?"
Sarah took a step back, respecting her partner's street knowledge.
"The Solomon family…man they be the heads of the Black Disciples. Shit Linden, we don't wanna be fuckin' with the Solomon family. They kill ya just as soon as look at ya."
Sarah knew she had some homework to do. Her Gang Unit colleagues could help fill in the void. Her cell phone then rang. It was the Medical Examiner. "I need to take this," she said to Holder as she opened her phone and hit the button to accept the call.
Holder strained to follow along. He had given up trying to be accepted by their colleagues as being on equal footing as Sarah Linden. She had history; he was still building.
"M.E. said that the boy was beaten. His liver and kidneys were bruised. There's actually a shoe print on the boy's abdomen. They're trying to determine his cause of death now."
Holder turned away and started walking down the hallway. Sarah stood and watched him. He turned at the end of the hallway and walked back toward her. "This ain't right Linden. However that kid died, those tweakers did it!"
Sarah stared up at Holder, waiting to catch his eye.
"This ain't good, Linden. The Solomon family won't stand for this. They don't let their own go down." Holder swallowed hard then turned to walk back down the hallway again.
As he got back to where Sarah was still standing, Holder finally caught her eyes and reminded himself that he needed to maintain his cool. He believed she would have him assigned to desk duty if she couldn't trust that he could hold it together.
"We only have a few more hours left with DeVian. We need to charge him or cut him loose," Sarah said.
"Then let's charge him," Holder said as he turned back toward the interrogation room.
"We don't have enough evidence yet," Sarah reminded.
"Let's get his shoes and see if we can get a timeline of his activities. That'll help when T.O.D. comes back. What about the statement at the house last night?"
"Holder, no one else heard anything," Sarah responded.
"Linden, I know what I heard."
"But there's such a thing as evidence and witnesses…and we don't have that."
"Then let's get him on drug charges. Certainly the uni's caught that evidence," Holder answered in a frustrated tone.
"But they're not directly linked to DeVian."
"Jesus, Johnny Cochran! You think that's OJ in there or somethin'?"
"Something like that," Linden responded. She paused then continued. "Holder, if we're going to put our lives on the line with this family that you say is the devil incarnate, then we damn well better have our shit together!" Sarah admonished.
"Okay, I get it. Saw the billboard."
"For right now, let's just link his shoes to the bruises on the boy. Can you confiscate his shoes, and I'll get the guys to swab his fingers for DNA?"
Holder turned toward the interrogation room. As he approached the door, he turned toward Sarah, "Wait here," he instructed.
She stood still and shook her head in the affirmative. "I'll be right outside the window here," she said to Holder as he went through the door.
Holder didn't know if that was meant as support or a threat. Regardless, he heeded her words.
DeVian looked up and smiled again.
"Yo, I ain't gonna bullshit ya. Shoe prints on the boy's stomach look like they be yours. Ring a bell? Did you kick that boy?"
"Shit, man. I ain't know there be a boy in that skanky house," DeVian responded.
Holder was perplexed. He then resumed, "Uni's gonna be takin' swabs. It don't look good for ya, DeVian." Holder continued to stand in front of DeVian, who was still handcuffed to the table.
DeVian's smile never faltered, and his facial expression never wavered. "Shit don't stick to no Solomon, bro. Now come on, you know that."
"Give me your kicks," Holder ordered.
With no hesitation, DeVian jerked his feet forward several times so his bright red Addias Crazy 8 sneakers would fly off his feet. "Shit, man, how you expect a brother to keep his feet warm?" he mocked.
Holder bent down to pick up the shoes and retreated from the room. His heart continued to pound in his chest.
"Good work, Holder," Sarah said as Holder joined her at the window. "Let's get them down to the M.E. so he can see if they're a match.
Holder shook his head up and down, his facial expression and eyes looking like that of a caged animal.
When they got to the morgue, they could see the frame of the little boy under a sheet lying on the steel table. They found the M.E. who immediately began going over the evidence with them. Holder couldn't keep his eyes off the boy. Linden did all the talking.
Holder could hear that they were talking but couldn't make out their words. He then felt suddenly hot and his stomach lurched as if it needed to get rid of the coffee and sugar toast. He continued to stand slightly behind Linden, shifting his weight from foot to foot. That could have been him, he thought to himself. Suddenly he felt the need to call his sister, Liz, and thank her for saving his life. He couldn't remember ever doing that. Had he ever done anything nice for her? She saved him from being a statistic, and all he ever did for her was give her more grief. He knew that Liz loved and hated him both at the same time. She now had her own life and own children to care for, and he was nothing but an unreliable additional burden to her. It was no wonder she didn't want him around her children. What mother in her right mind would want her child's role model to be a low-life tweaker? Holder felt someone touching his arm and looked up to realize that Linden was talking to him. "I gotta take a piss," he said as he scurried through the double swinging doors into the hallway where the men's bathroom was.
Linden followed him out of the room and could hear him retching in the men's room. It had been hours since they ate breakfast, so there was certainly nothing in his stomach to be expelled. She waited patiently outside the door until Holder came out. "Come on, let's go get some fresh air," she offered.
They walked out of the morgue and down the sidewalk, not really having a destination in mind.
"The M.E. going to see if DeVian's shoes are a match," Linden said, breaking the silence between them.
"Oh…okay…good," Holder responded.
"So we can at least charge DeVian with assault and battery. That should get us several days."
"Oh…okay."
Linden was startled at how robotically Holder was answering. "Do you feel like getting some lunch?"
He really didn't, but he answered yes anyway. "Jimmy John's?"
"Sure," Linden answered.
They then turned back around toward the morgue to get their car. "On our way back, we can stop by the school to chat with the social worker," Linden said. After several minutes of silence, Linden added, "The Lieutenant said that the mother isn't talking…not one word. She won't even acknowledge that the boy is hers."
"She probably won't…he wasn't a kid to her…just some obstruction in her way," Holder responded.
"Is that what your mom thought about you?" Linden asked.
Holder stopped and jerked around quickly toward Linden. He then looked up at the sky. "Damn, Linden. You don't mince words."
"My mom left me, and I can't figure out why," Linden offered. "I was all alone for several days in the dark waiting for her to come back, but she never did. I don't even know who called social services. I never was…." Sarah paused.
"Never was what?" Holder asked.
"I never was told what happened to her…why she left me," Sarah answered quietly.
"My moms never shoulda had kids," Holder interjected. "I dunno why she did…can't figure that one out."
As they drove along, Linden offered him a sympathetic smile. "Go in or Drive-thru…what's your preference?"
"I'm a booth kind of guy," Holder answered.
They then went inside Jimmy John's and walked up to the counter. "You gonna eat something this time?" Holder sarcastically asked.
"I'd like a Slim 4 and large coffee," Sarah said.
Holder stepped forward. "Uh, give me the Giant Club Sandwich #13…and an extra-large sweat tea... And…two orders of Jalapeno Jimmy Chips, too," he added.
"No thank you, I don't eat jalapeno peppers," Sarah said.
"I'm down with that, but those are mine," Holder responded.
Linden snickered, relieved that he still had his appetite. They then sat down at a booth.
"Ya know Linden…I know you had a rough time and all…ya know…growing up in the system. But no one intervened on my behalf…no one. And they had to know."
"Know what?" Linden asked.
Holder looked down at the plastic tray full of food. He wasn't sure why he had ordered so much. He struggled to find the right words to explain. Taking a deep breath in, Holder looked up at Sarah.
"Know what?" Sarah repeated. After a few moment pause, she added, "Know that you were mistreated?"
Holder shook his head. "Yeah, guess it don't take no genius to figure that one out. My moms…man, she had some Mike Tysons in her time."
Sarah remained still and quiet. She then took a sip of her coffee.
"You know you can talk to me if you need someone, right?"
"Yeah, Linden…I know…you a regular Dr. Phil," Holder said as he smiled at her.
She smiled back.
They both took large bites of their sandwiches. They were delicious.
TBC