Once the teenager was processed, Newton walked him to juvenile holding.
"I want a lawyer."
"So you said."
"I know my rights."
"You know who says that shit? Criminals. You're an accessory to murder. Even if you didn't off that guy, you were there. I strongly suggest you exercise your right to remain silent, in addition to the attorney."
"I didn't do it! You have to believe me!"
"That's the beauty of this arrangement. I don't." Newton made sure the door was firmly locked. "Watch him. Well. He pulls any shit, call me."
"Being kinda hard on the kid," Harvey said as they walked back to their office.
"Maybe he'll think twice before he does another stupid thing. He hangs out with the wrong crowd."
"You don't even know him."
Newton glared at Harvey. "Know him? I was him." Gathering his weapon, he strode rapidly to the parking lot. It annoyed him that no one believed him that the kid was dangerous. Also, not a soul had thanked him for capturing the kid, they were all mad about how he'd done it. Fuming, he lit a cigarette, inhaling angrily.
Canon found him a few minutes later, pacing and cursing. "You okay?"
"Yeah. Fine." He sounded anything but.
"Talk."
Newton turned, his body radiating anger. He took a deep drag of his cigarette, gesturing sharply. "So full of himself. So sure he'll be believed, because he's small, scrawny, a fast talker. Yeah, he's slick—like slime."
"He's a kid—wrong place, wrong time. This isn't like you, Newton. You always cut slack, sometimes too much."
"Not this time. Not that kid." He pointed at the building, trying not to yell in his boss' face. "I joined the Army at seventeen. Because I was that kid. I had a mouth on me, slick. Water sheeted off me. Fast. Smart. I had to be. I was smaller than him. A Japanese Jew in Chinatown. That was f**king fun. A beat cop caught me, set me straight, got me in the Army by talking to my folks. Here I am, SWAT. Twenty years ago—" He lifted his chin at the building.
"I'll give you this one. But lighten up."
"No. Not this time. Not this kid."
"Why? What makes him so special?"
"He reminds me of my son." He swallowed hard. No one knew about the son he'd left behind. "His mom and I weren't together long, but I kept in touch. She told me he was going the wrong way. I was deployed. I wasn't here to set him straight. He died in a gang fight." Tears threatened to fall. "He was twelve," he whispered.
"I didn't know," Canon said, swallowing his own emotions.
"Everyone has a secret."
"Have you told Eilene?"
"There hasn't really been a chance, Lou. It's not a conversation I want to have with my new girlfriend. I'll tell her when I tell her."
Canon nodded. He had no problem with Newton's choice.
"Why did she freak out so when we were given the address?"
"That's her secret."
Nodding, Newton conceded that point. "The dead guy on the roof, we have a name?"
"Local gang-banger. Went by the name Freddy the Fang," Canon replied.
"And this one?"
"Teddy the Toad." Canon raised an eyebrow.
Newton mirrored the expression. "Stupid name."
"But not a stupid guy, from what I'm told."
"He was on the roof with an assault rifle and a rocket launcher. He's guilty of something."
"Youthful foolishness?"
"Youthful foolishness is shoplifting on a dare." Newton lit another cigarette. "He smelled of chemicals. A lot."
"Gunpowder?" Canon lit his own smoke.
"And blow back. I had them swab his hands and take his jacket. I know he acts all scared and helpless, he's anything but. My money is on him being the mastermind. I don't know what they were doing, or why, but it was sloppy—probably on purpose. Have him watched very carefully."
"I'll pass along your concerns."
"In the strongest possible terms. That boy is a Class A manipulator."
"He seems nice."
"He seems great! So did I." Frustrated, Newton started pacing again. "I was funny, smart, the class clown. Fast. Agile. I could get in and out of unbelievably small places. To save my hide, and protect my family, I did terrible things. Always an excuse, an angle, a scapegoat. I didn't kill, but I came awfully damn close. That kid is me, only no one has stopped him. You ask his friend, if he can get over being terrified."
©2021 Dellani Oakes
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