This One's Personal
Chapter 2
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
George Palmer was flipping through the channels on the television of the motel he was staying at. He wanted to see if his picture had been put out over the wires and to the news. He could always use a fake name - he'd done it to get this last job in the daycare center - but he didn't have the money to change his looks.
He still couldn't believe how lucky he'd been to overhear Shaun's mother talking with the director of the daycare center about him, allowing him to get away. He could still hear it...
*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*
"I want answers, Mrs. Moore. And I want them now. Did you run a background check on this person?" came Katy's angry voice through the door.
"What exactly did Shaun say about Mr. Palmer?" Mrs. Moore had asked her.
"He told me about the game that George liked to play with him. He showed me and it was inappropriate, to say the least, and I won't stand for it. I want to make sure that no other child has to go through this and I want anyone that has to get help to deal with it," Katy continued. "Now, where is he?"
"Well, let's see," Mrs. Moore said, getting flustered. She was trying to remember who had run the background check on George Palmer. She always looked over the checks and she was sure that everything must have been in order. "He should be in setting up for the morning group," said Mrs. Moore, leading Katy to the activity room.
He wasn't in the activity room so she went into a couple of the other rooms, Katy following her, and finally called out to him, "George! Are you in here anywhere?" She looked at Katy and said, "He was here a minute ago. I just gave him his coffee. I always pick up coffee and bagels on the way in every morning," she said to fill the silence.
Suddenly Katy and Mrs. Moore noticed a draft and went over to the back entrance to find it wide open, a coffee cup discarded just outside the door. "Looks like he gave us the slip," Katy said to Mrs. Moore as she stormed out to head home and figure out what to do next.
*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*
And now here he was, holed up in some rat-trap of a motel. He found the news channel and listened for a full cycle of the news. There was no mention of him, but he knew that didn't mean that they weren't out looking for him. He flipped through the billing and emergency notification information of Shaun's file that he'd taken on his way out and his eyes stopped at the spot where a secondary notification was listed for emergencies (in the event that the parent could not be reached immediately). It read Lieutenant Swersky (grandfather) and listed his home phone as well as the phone number of the 55th Precinct. In addition, another name had been written below that line. It read Maurice Boscorelli (friend) with phone numbers for his home and work - it was the same work number as Shaun's grandfather.
He immediately got a nervous feeling in his stomach. "You may have screwed up big this time," he thought to himself. He spent a few minutes chastising himself for being careless and not researching his victim better. But, Shaun had been such a happy kid; outgoing and trusting, with a bright, quick smile for everyone.
"Okay, George. Focus. You've got to figure out what to do," he thought to himself. Another voice within him told him that there was no way he could leave the child behind. First and foremost, he couldn't leave a witness; and secondly, he just couldn't imagine losing such a special find. He shook himself from his sick thoughts and reached for the old, tattered phone book.
~~~~~~~~~~~~
"Look," said Bosco, getting angrier by the second. "You can either open the door for me, or I'll kick it in myself. But, make no mistake, I AM getting in that apartment," he threatened. Faith immediately stepped between Bosco and the superintendent of Palmer's building.
"Bos, calm down. Look, Mr. Sampson, isn't it?" she asked and the man nodded that she was correct.
"Mr. Sampson. It's very important that we make sure that Mr. Palmer isn't hurt in the apartment. He was a witness to a very serious crime and there's a good chance that his identity is known to the criminal. Now, we don't want this guy coming here looking for Mr. Palmer to try and hurt him," she continued to explain, now gaining the superintendent's full attention.
"What, you mean like this guy could come here and mess the place up?" he said.
"Yeah. But, I'm sure you're more concerned with the safety of your tenants, right?" Bosco said sarcastically.
"Well, that goes without saying, Officer," faked the man, who was more concerned with the cost of repairing any damages than he was the loss of human life.
"Of course," said Bosco. "So, are you gonna open the door or what?"
"'Cause the sooner we find Mr. Palmer and advertise that he's in protective custody, the less chance of anyone coming here looking for him," added Faith, again stepping between Bosco and Mr. Sampson.
"Well, okay," said the man, taking out his key and unlocking the door. "But if he complains, I'm telling him you made me do it."
"Yeah, whatever," said Bosco, pushing the man aside and opening the door at the same time he drew his weapon and held it at the ready.
"Easy, Bos," Faith warned as she did the same and they entered the apartment.
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
TBC...
Chapter 2
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
George Palmer was flipping through the channels on the television of the motel he was staying at. He wanted to see if his picture had been put out over the wires and to the news. He could always use a fake name - he'd done it to get this last job in the daycare center - but he didn't have the money to change his looks.
He still couldn't believe how lucky he'd been to overhear Shaun's mother talking with the director of the daycare center about him, allowing him to get away. He could still hear it...
*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*
"I want answers, Mrs. Moore. And I want them now. Did you run a background check on this person?" came Katy's angry voice through the door.
"What exactly did Shaun say about Mr. Palmer?" Mrs. Moore had asked her.
"He told me about the game that George liked to play with him. He showed me and it was inappropriate, to say the least, and I won't stand for it. I want to make sure that no other child has to go through this and I want anyone that has to get help to deal with it," Katy continued. "Now, where is he?"
"Well, let's see," Mrs. Moore said, getting flustered. She was trying to remember who had run the background check on George Palmer. She always looked over the checks and she was sure that everything must have been in order. "He should be in setting up for the morning group," said Mrs. Moore, leading Katy to the activity room.
He wasn't in the activity room so she went into a couple of the other rooms, Katy following her, and finally called out to him, "George! Are you in here anywhere?" She looked at Katy and said, "He was here a minute ago. I just gave him his coffee. I always pick up coffee and bagels on the way in every morning," she said to fill the silence.
Suddenly Katy and Mrs. Moore noticed a draft and went over to the back entrance to find it wide open, a coffee cup discarded just outside the door. "Looks like he gave us the slip," Katy said to Mrs. Moore as she stormed out to head home and figure out what to do next.
*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*
And now here he was, holed up in some rat-trap of a motel. He found the news channel and listened for a full cycle of the news. There was no mention of him, but he knew that didn't mean that they weren't out looking for him. He flipped through the billing and emergency notification information of Shaun's file that he'd taken on his way out and his eyes stopped at the spot where a secondary notification was listed for emergencies (in the event that the parent could not be reached immediately). It read Lieutenant Swersky (grandfather) and listed his home phone as well as the phone number of the 55th Precinct. In addition, another name had been written below that line. It read Maurice Boscorelli (friend) with phone numbers for his home and work - it was the same work number as Shaun's grandfather.
He immediately got a nervous feeling in his stomach. "You may have screwed up big this time," he thought to himself. He spent a few minutes chastising himself for being careless and not researching his victim better. But, Shaun had been such a happy kid; outgoing and trusting, with a bright, quick smile for everyone.
"Okay, George. Focus. You've got to figure out what to do," he thought to himself. Another voice within him told him that there was no way he could leave the child behind. First and foremost, he couldn't leave a witness; and secondly, he just couldn't imagine losing such a special find. He shook himself from his sick thoughts and reached for the old, tattered phone book.
~~~~~~~~~~~~
"Look," said Bosco, getting angrier by the second. "You can either open the door for me, or I'll kick it in myself. But, make no mistake, I AM getting in that apartment," he threatened. Faith immediately stepped between Bosco and the superintendent of Palmer's building.
"Bos, calm down. Look, Mr. Sampson, isn't it?" she asked and the man nodded that she was correct.
"Mr. Sampson. It's very important that we make sure that Mr. Palmer isn't hurt in the apartment. He was a witness to a very serious crime and there's a good chance that his identity is known to the criminal. Now, we don't want this guy coming here looking for Mr. Palmer to try and hurt him," she continued to explain, now gaining the superintendent's full attention.
"What, you mean like this guy could come here and mess the place up?" he said.
"Yeah. But, I'm sure you're more concerned with the safety of your tenants, right?" Bosco said sarcastically.
"Well, that goes without saying, Officer," faked the man, who was more concerned with the cost of repairing any damages than he was the loss of human life.
"Of course," said Bosco. "So, are you gonna open the door or what?"
"'Cause the sooner we find Mr. Palmer and advertise that he's in protective custody, the less chance of anyone coming here looking for him," added Faith, again stepping between Bosco and Mr. Sampson.
"Well, okay," said the man, taking out his key and unlocking the door. "But if he complains, I'm telling him you made me do it."
"Yeah, whatever," said Bosco, pushing the man aside and opening the door at the same time he drew his weapon and held it at the ready.
"Easy, Bos," Faith warned as she did the same and they entered the apartment.
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
TBC...