Chapter Four
"Very candid, wasn't she?" Alex says as she and Bobby walk side by side down the driveway of the split-level home of Vivian Miller.
"Marriage from hell, that's for sure," Bobby replies.
Alex unlocks the driver's side door, he stands motionless clutching his case as he waits patiently for his partner to unlock his door, moments later he hears the click of the door lock, he opens the door, "I don't think she had anything to do with George's death," tossing his case inside. "He was out of her life and from her financial records she was better off with him alive than dead."
Alex pulls the seatbelt strap across her body, "I don't understand why a woman," she secures the strap. "Who seems to be pretty shrewd, would stay in a marriage with a womanizing piece of slime?" She shakes her head in wonder. He remains silent, "You don't agree with me?" she takes a glance at him; "Bobby?" the look on his face is solemn.
"Because people always believe that things will be the way they were, suckers all of them," he blurts out. "Goddamn son of a bitch!" He says under his breathe, he can feel her stare, "I'm sorry Eames it's...let's get the hell out of here."
Sliding the key into the ignition, "Sure," she turns the key. "I'm for that." Putting the SUV in reverse, she slowly backs the vehicle out of the driveway. Bobby keeps his gaze focused out the side window. A few minutes down the street and already the silence in the car is uncomfortable, she clicks on the radio. Music, that's better, she raises the volume a tad, tapping her fingers to the beat on the steering wheel. Nice little town, she thinks as she looks at the scenery, passing by one of the 30,000 McDonalds in the world, a hunger pain hits. Lunch.
"Hey Bobby, are you hungry?"
"Huh?" he replies continuing to stare out the window.
"Hungry, food...want to stop and get something to eat?"
He faces forward, "Yeah, sure. Take out or sit down?"
"Well there's a Subway," she points out the front window. "Let's stop in there."
Each with their foot long hero's on their laps they begin in silence to consume their food, "So," she says.
"So, so what?" is his reply.
"Nothing really it's just that since we left Vivian's you've been very quiet, much like you use to do in the beginning of our partnership." She takes a long sip of soda. "Boy that would piss me off."
"Sorry," he says sweetly.
"Hey, it's alright it was a long time ago." She lightly taps his arm, "What's wrong?"
His turn to take a sip of soda through the long straw, he swallows then begins to speak, softly. "I….my Dad," he purposes avoids her gaze. "Well he liked to….you know," he shrugs his shoulders. "Have a good time….and my Mom stayed married to him for 16 years, when he first left I was so angry at her for pushing him away. Yeah I know, stupid right?" He catches her eye and flashes a quick smile, "Man those two were great at keeping secrets, always makes me wonder how many more they hid from us, anyway it was a long time ago….at least George took care of his kids. My father never had a dollar for more than five minutes."
"What did he do with his money? Besides spend it on women," her eyes widen from the realization of her sentence. "Bobby, I'm sorry."
He chuckles, "It's alright," he sits up straight. "Gambling, loved to play the ponies, poker, what ever. He was so excited when they started legal gambling in Atlantic City I swear I wouldn't be surprised if he pissed his pants." She joins him in a laugh. "Anyway, he's gone and well my Mom….you know where she is."
Alex's cell phone rings, checking the caller ID, "It's Deakins," she hits the talk button. "Yes sir."
"Eames, have you and Goren gotten lost?"
"No sir we are on our way back now, but hunger alas has delayed our return."
He hesitates, "Anything pertinent from Vivian?"
"No sir, he was a cheater but she knew that throughout their marriage, financially she was better off with him alive."
"Alright drive safe."
"Yes sir, bye." She closes up the phone.
Bobby says mockingly, "Hunger alas has delayed our return, where did you get that from?"
"I'm not sure," she pauses. "A movie I think." She slips the phone in her jacket pocket. "You know….sometimes when I talk to Deakins, I feel like I'm talking to my Dad," she says softly.
"Yeah," Bobby nods, "He's alright, gives me a lot of elbow room, I like that. That's why I loved narcotics, out on the street no one looking over your shoulder; well you were out on the street also….in a different way." His eyes widen. "What did your Dad have to say about that?"
"He hated it but hey….you ready?"
He crushes up the bags and stuffs them in the cups, "Yeah let's go," he looks around the parking lot, "Where the hell is a trash can?"
She points to the left. "There," tapping his shoulder. "Over there." He exits the SUV, she follows.
"I think I can toss this in the trash on my own."
"Funny, Goren oh you are a funny man, I have to pee."
He tosses the large cups into the trashcan, "Again."
"Yes again, that soda was 64 ounces," she points her finger at him; "You'll have to go before we get back to the city." Moments later as she is leaving the building he passes her on her way back to the SUV, "Where are you going?" she asks. He just smiles.
She waits for him near the passenger door, "Eames?"
"Yeah," she lifts her head to meet his eyes.
"Thanks…." He lowers his head, staring at the ground, "For asking and listening." She grabs him by his jacket sleeve and pulls him forward, "Come on Goren," he meets her eyes and they share a warm smile. "You have a story to finish." She walks quickly around the vehicle; moments later they are seated inside. "What happened after you guys talked to Cheryl?"
"Cheryl was very cooperative." Bobby says as they close the doors on the SUV simultaneously. "She was at a lose for why her son was behaving this way."
"I take it so were you?"
"Definitely, I knew it wasn't going to be easy to find him after close to six weeks of hiding out, he could pretty much hide anywhere. I felt that Cheryl was genuinely concerned about Tony. My partner on the other hand thought she was full of shit. So we checked with his teachers and doctors, there were no reports of abuse from her hand or neglect. The home was neat and orderly."
"What was your partners' name again?"
"White, Nathan."
Alex shakes her head, "Never heard of him."
"I heard he quit and went into security, anyway. After about ten days or so looking for this kid, we got the order to move on. Well White moved on and I….well I kept looking for him. I would walk the streets in the neighborhood, with no luck. About a week later, he fell right into my lap."
August 13, 1995
69th Precinct, Brooklyn
"Hey Goren," Officer Joe Fredrics calls to him.
"Yeah," Bobby says as he turns to face the stout red-haired officer.
"My partner and I found that kid that you've been looking for."
"No shit, where?" he says excitedly.
"About 11 a.m. we took a break and huddled in an alley we saw this kid. He was totally out of it, he acted very calm, didn't resist when we read him his rights and well….he's in interrogation. "
"Thanks Joe."
"No problem." As he turns to leave, he snaps his fingers, "Oh Goren…."
"Yeah," Bobby replies.
"Good luck."
"You say that as if I'm really gonna need it."
"What do you think?"
Bobby smirks, "Yeah I see your point."
He opens the door and inside the gray room he finds a small framed boy sitting with his head on his arms. "Hey," Bobby calls to him, no response. "Hey," he says a tad louder than before, still no response. He kicks one of the legs on the table. The dark-haired boy slowly raises his head; muddled words are heard from the pre-teen. His eyes are glassy and his pupils are small. "Anthony Fisher," the boy nods his head. "I'm Detective Goren; do you know why you are here?" He shakes his head as he lowers it down to rest upon his arms. Bobby sits down next to the boy grabbing the collar of his shirt, pulling him up, "Hey I'm talking to you. Look at me."
"I'm….I feel sick."
"Sick as in you're gonna puke?"
Nodding his head feverishly, he squeaks out the word, "Yeah."
"Come on," he helps Tony to his feet. After a quick visit to the men's room, they return to the little gray room.
Bobby starts in immediately with his questions, "Where have you been living and with whom?" No response. "I know that you were spending nights in the stores, but you're not doing that anymore." Tony remains quiet as he sits bent over holding his stomach. Bobby sets down the police photo of Jonathan Stark, which depicts his injury, in front of the boy. "Do you remember this man, the man that you hit with a bottle?"
Tony gazes at the photo, raising his head he sheepishly looks up at Bobby, "Is he….is he alright?"
Bobby frowns at first from the unexpected question; he flashes a quick smile as he sits down next to the young boy. "He's fine."
"I don't know why I did that."
"You say you don't but I think you do."
"Money, I needed money to give to….am I going to go to jail?"
"I…." be honest with the kid, "Probably, I'm going to put you in a cell for a while, I'll call your Mom." Tony grabs a part of his jacket sleeve, "No please don't."
"I have to you're only eleven and…."
"She….she has enough problems she doesn't need to know about this."
"Tony, she's worried about you," Bobby places his hand on the boys' shoulder, "You believe that don't you?"
"You talked to my Mom?"
"Yes I did, yesterday. She's very scared for you."
Tony pushes the chair away from the table; he stands and begins to pace around the room, seeming to be coming down from his high, his speech and mannerisms returning to normal. "Tell her...tell her that I'm fine and not to worry about me."
"That's not fair, think about how she feels."
"I…." he swallows hard. "I don't want her to see me like this."
Bobby stands, "You mean the way you look or…." He scans the room, "The fact that you are in a police station….or both?"
Tony shyly looks up at the tall detective, "Exactly how tall are you?"
"Huh, ah six-four and don't change the subject," Bobby extends his arm, "Come on I'll get you something to eat and you can get cleaned up."
Tony crosses his arms bowing his head, "Alright."
"What do you want to eat?"
"Can I get a sandwich?"
"Sure," Bobby places his hand on Tony's shoulder, "What kind?"
"Pastrami on rye."
The Present
"I have to admit that I thought I was going to meet up with a fouled mouthed, nasty punk. But no, he was genuinely concerned about Stark and his mother. He cleaned up, looking more like an eleven year old. I called Cheryl and she was relived but scared for him."
August 13 1995
5 P.M.
"He's at the 69th precinct; ask for me when you get here."
"Is he going to go to jail, Detective?"
"Probably, you need to get him an attorney as soon as you can."
"An attorney? Where? How?"
"We'll talk about that when you get here."
Cheryl Fisher enters the precinct, nervous and scared; she timidly asks the desk sergeant if she may see Detective Goren. Commandingly he tells her to sit down. As she sits and watches the comings and goings of officers escorting men and a few woman through the doors she fidgets in her seat.
"Missus Fisher," she hears her name and looks up at a friendly and familiar face. He holds out his hand, "Come on," she takes a hold. "I'll take you to see Tony." They ride the elevator to the detective's squad room on the third floor in silence. The doors open and he gestures with his hand for her to go first. "He's had a nap and some dinner and he's…."
"Goren!" he hears his name bellow throughout the room. "Excuse me just a minute," he pulls out a chair for her. "Please sit here, I'll be right back." She nods as she sits clutching her bag.
"My office," Captain Ben Hamilton commands. Bobby follows his C.O through the squad, Hamilton opens his office door hastily and it hits the wall. "Close the door," he says as he stuffs his hands in his pockets, turning slowly to face the newest member of his squad. He leans up against his desk, "Detective we are not running a motel for wayward teenagers."
"I realize that Sir, he's in holding I put him there…."
"Detective is there a complaint out on this kid?"
He hesitates then answers, "Yes."
"I'm assuming that is his mother."
"Yes it is."
"Goren," his arrogant attitude suddenly disappears as he stands, "A...his mother has been notified….she can visit him in interrogation then get him an attorney and get him booked and processed, immediately."
"Yes Sir," Bobby controls the smile he feels.
Cheryl stands when she notices him approaching her, "Are you in trouble?"
He laughs, "No….no more than usual."
Bobby opens the door to the interrogation room and when Tony looks up and spies his Mother he turns his back on her. "I told you I didn't want her here."
"Too bad," Bobby says as he pulls out a chair for Cheryl to sit.
"Tony," Cheryl says through sobs. "Please talk to me."
"Just go home, I'll be alright. Don't worry about me."
She reaches for him touching his shoulder, he stands, "Take her home!"
The tears are rolling down her cheeks; Bobby takes her by her elbow and helps her to her feet. "I don't understand, what have I done wrong?"
"Nothing," Tony says as he faces the wall. "Nothing, it's me, all right. I'm the screw up, just go home."
Bobby escorts Cheryl from the room, "The ladies room, where is the ladies room?" Bobby guides her through the squad room down the hall and points when they come upon the ladies room. He waits for her outside. Minutes later she emerges, her crying has subsided but her eyes are red. "What? I don't know what to do."
"You have to wait here for his attorney."
"An attorney? I can't afford an attorney."
"Cheryl, may I call you Cheryl?" she nods. "You watch TV I'm sure, you know the line you have a right to an attorney and if you can't afford one, one will be appointed," she manages a smile. "One is on his way."
The Present
The attorney arrived, I proceeded to book Tony, and well you know the rest. Cheryl and I attended every court hearing and so did Jonathan."
"Really, he wanted him to fry?"
"At first that's what I thought, but no. He wanted him to get help, so the ADA and his court appointed lawyer. They came up with a deal, no trial he would plead guilty to trespassing and attempted robbery, no jail time but he would be on probation for 18 months. He had to stay in school maintain a C average or better or he would be sent to juvey. Well the judge decided, why bother let's just sent him there now and he did. Gave him nine months, let's not try and help the kid, especially because he is eleven and a menace to society," he says sarcastically. "We'll just turn our backs on him and lock him up."
"So they take an angry kid and put him in place that will just make him angrier."
Bobby nods his head in agreement, "You know….It took me awhile to understand his attitude."
"I can understand that, he was very angry but at who?"
"Exactly, and being a kid….hell even adults have trouble dealing with anger. Anyway he didn't understand why he felt this way, in his heart he knew it wasn't his Mom's fault and he pushed her away wanting her to let him go but that was never going to happen. However through the years," he points his index finger in the air. "She has been an enabler."
"Enabler? Why? Because she didn't turn her back on him?"
"No for putting up with his crap, like the other night. Now in my opinion she should have kicked him out for the night but she didn't."
"I see your point, what happened the next day?"
"He went back to his previous employer and apologized. The guy gave him his job back." His cell phone rings, he checks the caller ID, "Speak of the devil." He hits the talk button, "Goren."
"Hey Bobby its Tony."
"Are you alright?"
"Yeah I have something to tell you, something good."
"I'm listening."
"I got my test scores for my GED exam all A's man I got all A's. The teacher gave me a place to call to prepare for the SAT's; you think I should take that right?"
Bobby smiles, "Yeah I do."
TBC