The Witness
Chapter 7
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
Bosco walked into the cafeteria and looked around for Katy. He finally caught site of her on the other side of the room, waved and walked over to the table she had taken over.
"Hey," he said, as he reached her.
"Hey, yourself," she said, looking at him. "You look like crap."
"Well, thanks. And you look really nice too," he said in response to her remark.
"You sure that eye's okay? It looks pretty bad," Katy said, reaching up to gently touch it. Bosco flinched and pulled away.
"Why do people feel the need to touch something they know is already sore?" he said, irritated.
"Sorry, it's a woman thing, I guess," she said, sitting down and motioning for him to take a seat.
Before he sat down, he looked back at the counter at the food. "Um, didn't you say something about eating?" he said as his stomach growled.
"Oh, sorry. Let's go," she said, getting up and grabbing her purse. She followed Bosco up to the counter and they each grabbed a tray. They walked through the line, choosing items to eat and making small talk. When they were done with their selections, they walked up to the register where the clerk began ringing up the food. Bosco reached into his back pocket for his wallet and Katy stopped him.
"Woah. I asked you, remember?" she said, opening her purse and pulling out a twenty dollar bill.
"Okay. If you're sure," Bosco said, letting her pay for his meal. They took their trays and returned to their table.
"So, what did Cole say last night?" Katy asked after a few moments of eating.
"Not much. Just that he didn't want to talk to any cops," Bosco said, thinking back to the conversation. He remembered something and corrected himself. "Actually, he said he COULDN'T talk to any cops, which makes me think even more that he's afraid of something - or someone."
"Hmmm. He didn't say anything else?" she asked him, taking a sip of her coffee.
Bosco shook his head and said, "Nope. That's when he started to lose it and getting loud. I decided to just leave my card and leave so I didn't wake up everyone on the floor."
"Well, at least you tried. Care to give it another shot?" she asked him hopefully.
He looked at his watch to see how much time he had before he had to be to work. He shrugged and said, "Why not?" They both finished their meal and threw away their trash before heading back upstairs for another try at getting to Cole.
*^*^*^*^*^*^*^
Bosco and Katy arrived on the floor and saw one of the detectives from the 5-5 coming out of Cole's room. The detective recognized Bosco and came over to him.
"What's up, Ray?" Bosco asked the other man, shaking his hand.
"I saw your card on the table in the kid's room. You know him?" the detective asked him.
"Not really. My partner and I came to take the report when he was brought in by the medics yesterday," Bosco said. "What'd you find out?" he asked the detective.
"Well, he's not talkin', but we got a witness that puts him outside the store right before the fire started, about the same time as the gunshots were heard," he told Bosco.
"Who's the witness?" asked Katy, drawing a suspicious stare from the detective.
"It's okay," Bosco said. "This is Katy Logan. She's been assigned to the kid's case from Children's Services."
The detective shook Katy's hand and said, "So, do I need to make arrangements for a lawyer for this boy?"
"Well, he's being pretty vague and refusing to answer any questions. It's making him look more and more guilty of something. It may come to that, but for now I'll just wait until the kid gets better," he replied. "Maybe once he's feeling better, he won't be so scared."
Bosco shrugged his shoulders and said, "Mind if I give it another try?"
"Go for it. It can't hurt," Ray replied. "By the way, what the hell happened to your face?"
"Long story," Bosco said and walked toward Cole's room.
*^*^*^*^*^*^*^
Cole looked at the doorway as he noticed someone else entering the room. He tensed up, expecting the detective to be back with more questions. "Look. I told you that I don't know anything about what you're talking ab...," he stopped, noticing that it was the cop from last night.
"What do you want? I told you last night I don't need your help," he said, anger in his voice.
"I know what you're SAYING. I'm just not believing that its what you MEAN," Bosco said, walking closer to him. He noticed that his card was still on the table and thought to himself, "Well, that's a start. At least he didn't throw it away."
"Look. I didn't have the typical Ward and June Cleaver experience either. I'll admit that I didn't have it as bad as you, but I had an old man who was a drunk. He used to come home drunk every night and beat up on me or my mother - who was usually just as drunk as he was. The only thing I was able to do was to take the beatings my old man handed out so that my little brother didn't get them instead," Bosco told him.
"I just want to be left alone. Why can't everybody just leave me alone?" Cole said to him.
"I'd like to leave you alone, Cole. But, I just get a feeling that you could use some help right now. How old are you, Cole?" Bosco asked him.
"What difference does that make?" he answered back.
"Could mean the difference between being tried as an adult or a juvenile," Bosco stated simply, noticing the change come over Cole's face.
"Tried for what?" he asked, looking Bosco in the eye for the first time.
"Ah. I see I got your attention with that one. Look, Cole. I think you're basically a good kid who fell in with the wrong crowd. I know all about your problems with your foster parents and stuff. And I also know that you've been living on the streets for the past couple of years. Aren't you tired of that?" Bosco said.
"It's all I got," he answered quietly, looking down at his lap.
"That's not how it has to be, Cole," came Katy's voice from behind Bosco. Both of them turned their attention to her. Bosco hadn't heard her come in behind him and wondered how much she'd heard.
Katy didn't let on that she'd heard every word of what Bosco had said about his childhood. She'd never heard that about him before and thought to herself that it made sense to her now about the way he behaved - leaving without calling her after their night of lovemaking. She thought that he was just another jerk. Now, she realized that it probably all stemmed from his experiences in a bad home life as a kid and it softened her heart a little.
"What d'you say, Cole? Will you let me and Ms. Logan help you?" Bosco asked him, moving to the side so that Katy could join him at Cole's bedside.
"I don't know what you want to help me with. I told that detective and I'll tell you. I didn't have anything to do with that old couple getting killed in the fire," he said, putting the wall back up.
"Well, hang onto my card," Bosco said, indicating his business card on the table. "It's got my home number on the back. You can call me anytime, Cole. I mean it," he said.
"I don't think you meant to have anything to do with that couple getting killed and the fire starting. I think you were just in the wrong place at the wrong time, with the wrong people. Don't let your distrust of people screw up the rest of your life. You have potential, Cole. You just need to grab onto the hand that's being held out for you," he finished, turning and walking out of the room, followed by Katy, who at some point during his speech had put her hand on the small of Bosco's back.
*^*^*^*^*^
"Well?" asked the detective outside of Cole's room.
"Well, I don't know," Bosco said. "I don't know if I got through to him or not. I guess I'll just have to wait and see if he calls me. I think he was involved, but I don't think he knew it was going down. And I don't think he was inside the store," Bosco finished.
"Well, as soon as the doctors say he can, he's gonna be moved to the prison hospital ward and charged. I got no choice," said Ray.
"Well, let's hope I can reach him before that happens," Bosco said. He shook Ray's hand and looked at Katy. "I gotta get to work," he said, and Katy noticed the exhausted look on his face.
"You should take the day off. You really do look terrible," she said to him.
He shrugged off her concern and said, "Faith's waiting for me. If I don't come in, she won't leave me alone until I answer the phone. Either way, I won't get any sleep until after my shift anyway," he said, chuckling.
"Call me, Maurice," Katy said to him, leaning in and giving him a hug.
"Will do," Bosco said, turning and walking to the elevator. He pushed the button and when the doors opened, he got in, looking at the floor. Katy watched him until the doors closed.
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
TBC...
Chapter 7
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
Bosco walked into the cafeteria and looked around for Katy. He finally caught site of her on the other side of the room, waved and walked over to the table she had taken over.
"Hey," he said, as he reached her.
"Hey, yourself," she said, looking at him. "You look like crap."
"Well, thanks. And you look really nice too," he said in response to her remark.
"You sure that eye's okay? It looks pretty bad," Katy said, reaching up to gently touch it. Bosco flinched and pulled away.
"Why do people feel the need to touch something they know is already sore?" he said, irritated.
"Sorry, it's a woman thing, I guess," she said, sitting down and motioning for him to take a seat.
Before he sat down, he looked back at the counter at the food. "Um, didn't you say something about eating?" he said as his stomach growled.
"Oh, sorry. Let's go," she said, getting up and grabbing her purse. She followed Bosco up to the counter and they each grabbed a tray. They walked through the line, choosing items to eat and making small talk. When they were done with their selections, they walked up to the register where the clerk began ringing up the food. Bosco reached into his back pocket for his wallet and Katy stopped him.
"Woah. I asked you, remember?" she said, opening her purse and pulling out a twenty dollar bill.
"Okay. If you're sure," Bosco said, letting her pay for his meal. They took their trays and returned to their table.
"So, what did Cole say last night?" Katy asked after a few moments of eating.
"Not much. Just that he didn't want to talk to any cops," Bosco said, thinking back to the conversation. He remembered something and corrected himself. "Actually, he said he COULDN'T talk to any cops, which makes me think even more that he's afraid of something - or someone."
"Hmmm. He didn't say anything else?" she asked him, taking a sip of her coffee.
Bosco shook his head and said, "Nope. That's when he started to lose it and getting loud. I decided to just leave my card and leave so I didn't wake up everyone on the floor."
"Well, at least you tried. Care to give it another shot?" she asked him hopefully.
He looked at his watch to see how much time he had before he had to be to work. He shrugged and said, "Why not?" They both finished their meal and threw away their trash before heading back upstairs for another try at getting to Cole.
*^*^*^*^*^*^*^
Bosco and Katy arrived on the floor and saw one of the detectives from the 5-5 coming out of Cole's room. The detective recognized Bosco and came over to him.
"What's up, Ray?" Bosco asked the other man, shaking his hand.
"I saw your card on the table in the kid's room. You know him?" the detective asked him.
"Not really. My partner and I came to take the report when he was brought in by the medics yesterday," Bosco said. "What'd you find out?" he asked the detective.
"Well, he's not talkin', but we got a witness that puts him outside the store right before the fire started, about the same time as the gunshots were heard," he told Bosco.
"Who's the witness?" asked Katy, drawing a suspicious stare from the detective.
"It's okay," Bosco said. "This is Katy Logan. She's been assigned to the kid's case from Children's Services."
The detective shook Katy's hand and said, "So, do I need to make arrangements for a lawyer for this boy?"
"Well, he's being pretty vague and refusing to answer any questions. It's making him look more and more guilty of something. It may come to that, but for now I'll just wait until the kid gets better," he replied. "Maybe once he's feeling better, he won't be so scared."
Bosco shrugged his shoulders and said, "Mind if I give it another try?"
"Go for it. It can't hurt," Ray replied. "By the way, what the hell happened to your face?"
"Long story," Bosco said and walked toward Cole's room.
*^*^*^*^*^*^*^
Cole looked at the doorway as he noticed someone else entering the room. He tensed up, expecting the detective to be back with more questions. "Look. I told you that I don't know anything about what you're talking ab...," he stopped, noticing that it was the cop from last night.
"What do you want? I told you last night I don't need your help," he said, anger in his voice.
"I know what you're SAYING. I'm just not believing that its what you MEAN," Bosco said, walking closer to him. He noticed that his card was still on the table and thought to himself, "Well, that's a start. At least he didn't throw it away."
"Look. I didn't have the typical Ward and June Cleaver experience either. I'll admit that I didn't have it as bad as you, but I had an old man who was a drunk. He used to come home drunk every night and beat up on me or my mother - who was usually just as drunk as he was. The only thing I was able to do was to take the beatings my old man handed out so that my little brother didn't get them instead," Bosco told him.
"I just want to be left alone. Why can't everybody just leave me alone?" Cole said to him.
"I'd like to leave you alone, Cole. But, I just get a feeling that you could use some help right now. How old are you, Cole?" Bosco asked him.
"What difference does that make?" he answered back.
"Could mean the difference between being tried as an adult or a juvenile," Bosco stated simply, noticing the change come over Cole's face.
"Tried for what?" he asked, looking Bosco in the eye for the first time.
"Ah. I see I got your attention with that one. Look, Cole. I think you're basically a good kid who fell in with the wrong crowd. I know all about your problems with your foster parents and stuff. And I also know that you've been living on the streets for the past couple of years. Aren't you tired of that?" Bosco said.
"It's all I got," he answered quietly, looking down at his lap.
"That's not how it has to be, Cole," came Katy's voice from behind Bosco. Both of them turned their attention to her. Bosco hadn't heard her come in behind him and wondered how much she'd heard.
Katy didn't let on that she'd heard every word of what Bosco had said about his childhood. She'd never heard that about him before and thought to herself that it made sense to her now about the way he behaved - leaving without calling her after their night of lovemaking. She thought that he was just another jerk. Now, she realized that it probably all stemmed from his experiences in a bad home life as a kid and it softened her heart a little.
"What d'you say, Cole? Will you let me and Ms. Logan help you?" Bosco asked him, moving to the side so that Katy could join him at Cole's bedside.
"I don't know what you want to help me with. I told that detective and I'll tell you. I didn't have anything to do with that old couple getting killed in the fire," he said, putting the wall back up.
"Well, hang onto my card," Bosco said, indicating his business card on the table. "It's got my home number on the back. You can call me anytime, Cole. I mean it," he said.
"I don't think you meant to have anything to do with that couple getting killed and the fire starting. I think you were just in the wrong place at the wrong time, with the wrong people. Don't let your distrust of people screw up the rest of your life. You have potential, Cole. You just need to grab onto the hand that's being held out for you," he finished, turning and walking out of the room, followed by Katy, who at some point during his speech had put her hand on the small of Bosco's back.
*^*^*^*^*^
"Well?" asked the detective outside of Cole's room.
"Well, I don't know," Bosco said. "I don't know if I got through to him or not. I guess I'll just have to wait and see if he calls me. I think he was involved, but I don't think he knew it was going down. And I don't think he was inside the store," Bosco finished.
"Well, as soon as the doctors say he can, he's gonna be moved to the prison hospital ward and charged. I got no choice," said Ray.
"Well, let's hope I can reach him before that happens," Bosco said. He shook Ray's hand and looked at Katy. "I gotta get to work," he said, and Katy noticed the exhausted look on his face.
"You should take the day off. You really do look terrible," she said to him.
He shrugged off her concern and said, "Faith's waiting for me. If I don't come in, she won't leave me alone until I answer the phone. Either way, I won't get any sleep until after my shift anyway," he said, chuckling.
"Call me, Maurice," Katy said to him, leaning in and giving him a hug.
"Will do," Bosco said, turning and walking to the elevator. He pushed the button and when the doors opened, he got in, looking at the floor. Katy watched him until the doors closed.
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
TBC...