Gem, Himself, Alone, page 5
“I won’t have that animal in my class! I will not put up with his misbehavior any longer!”
“We’ll take care of it, Miss Preet. He can be put in another class.”
“He drew blood! If a dog did that to me, I’d have him put down!”
“Why don’t you go get that looked at? I will take care of Gem.”
She went her way, still muttering and complaining to anyone who was listening. The principal walked over to the troublemaker’s desk, where Gem had been left. Gem covered his aching face with both hands, trying to keep from crying again. His pants were wet. He felt as if he was soaked in shame.
“Tell me what happened, Gem,” the principal said, his tone less harsh and accusing than Gem had expected. Almost as if he were concerned about Gem.
The floodgates opened, and Gem couldn’t stop the tears, could hardly breathe because of the sobs. The principal put his hand on Gem’s head to comfort and calm him.
“There, now. You’re okay. Just tell me what happened.”
Gem left his seat and threw his arms around the sympathetic listener, unable to quell the heartrending sobs. The principal held him gingerly, mindful of his wet trousers, and let him cry it out.
Bethany held Gem as he wept uncontrollably. She didn’t know whether he was awake or still dreaming. She just knew he needed to be held. Eventually, he stopped and lay still and quiet sprawled next to her.
Gem heard the principal say aside to his secretary as he was taken out of the office, “That child is very troubled.”
Gem was sluggish in the morning, feeling worse than when he went to sleep. His head ached, and he felt sweaty and nauseated.
“You had a pretty rough night,” Bethany observed.
“Don’t usually dream like that,” Gem mumbled, trying to decide if he was going to have to get up.
Bethany kissed him on the cheek. “Because you have a fever,” she told him. “You’re sick.”
“I am?”
“Yeah. So you just stay in bed. I’ll play mama today and take care of you.”
That sounded awfully good. “Okay,” Gem murmured, snuggling down deeper into the covers and closing his eyes. “G’night.”
CHAPTER NINE
GEM STOOD BY the window. The temperature in the apartment was like an oven. He was restless to get out but didn’t have anywhere to go. He gazed down at the sidewalk, where he saw Thrasher talking to an unfamiliar man. “Who’s that?”
“Who?” Joey asked. He joined Gem at the window. “Oh, Sunnyboy. He’s Bethany’s boyfriend.”
“Bethany’s boyfriend?” Gem repeated, frowning. “I thought she just hung out with the gang.”
“She’s owned by the Rippers. Until Sunny pays us the money he owes.”
Gem felt the blood draining from his face. He fought hard to ignore the tightness in his chest and keep his voice steady. “She’s a hostage?” He swallowed hard.
“Some hostage!” Joey laughed. “We cover her rent; all she has to do is turn a few tricks.”
Gem felt sick. He turned and walked out of the apartment. Joey called after him, but Gem pretended not to hear him and kept going.
Gem walked the few blocks through the blistering heat to Bethany’s building. He hesitated outside her apartment door. Then he mustered up the courage to knock. Bethany opened it a few moments later. She looked tired, but smiled at him pleasantly.
“Hi, Gem. Come on in.”
He walked in stiffly and eventually perched on the edge of the couch. Her apartment was comfortable; the air conditioner humming away out of sight. Bethany sat down beside him, looking disconcerted by his mood.
“What’s up?” she asked, head cocked.
“I’m… I’m sorry,” Gem ground out.
“Sorry? What for?”
“I just found out that you are… held hostage here. Before I thought that you… just liked company.” It sounded lame in his own ears. Had he really believed that she hung around with the Rippers and kept them entertained of her own free choice?
“I do like company.” But he saw something in her eyes. Something that she had been able to keep hidden from him before.
“I didn’t know,” Gem persisted, his voice breaking a little. “I didn’t know about Sunny and the loan and everything. I’m not that kind of guy! I’m not a John or a perv.”
Bethany just looked at him, letting him go on.
“I honestly thought you only went with guys if you liked them.”
It was stupid. She wouldn’t believe him. She’d think he was just another scummy guy taking advantage of her.
“Why are you so upset about it?” Bethany asked in a flat, unemotional tone. “I actually do like you, but what does it matter?”
Gem couldn’t answer. He swallowed, tears leaking down his throat, trying to keep his composure.
“If I really wanted to, I could take off,” Bethany pointed out. “There’s no handcuffs. No bars. No locks that I don’t have the key to. I’m saving my money, and maybe one day I’ll take off. But right now, I choose to stay here.”
Gem took a deep breath. “Where I was… there were locks.”
Bethany’s eyes met his searchingly as if trying to read the truth. She took his hand and held it firmly. Her hands were cool and dry, but Gem’s were sweating. “Who locked you up?”
“A man. A slimy pig who didn’t deserve to be called human.”
“A pimp.”
Gem nodded, breathing through his mouth, having a hard time catching his breath. She squeezed his hand.
“The Rippers locked me up twice,” Bethany confessed. She bit her lip. “Not Thrasher, he hasn’t been leading the gang that long. The guy before him. Neil. When they first brought me here, and then once after the cops picked me up. They chained me up. It wasn’t for long, but it was still… you know, sort of scary.”
Gem nodded.
“I still get scared, feel trapped sometimes,” Bethany admitted. “But I know I have the money to skip town if I have to. I don’t mind so much if I’m with a guy that I like. And if I’m with someone I don’t like, I just sort of blank it out, you know?”
“Yeah.” Gem knew.
“It’s just sometimes in between, thinking about it.” Her voice trailed off.
They were both silent for a few minutes, swallowed up by emotion.
“How long were you locked up?” Bethany asked softly.
“I don’t know. I lost track. Months.”
Bethany looked horrified. “Months? When I got locked up, it was only for a couple of days.”
“But how long have you been here?”
Bethany frowned. “A few months. It’s not the same, though. And I do know the difference.”
Gem looked around her apartment critically. It wasn’t a bad place. Better than anywhere he’d lived, and she had it to herself. Most of the time. Would it be worth turning a few tricks to have a place like that? Not an endless parade of men night and day. Just a couple of the Rippers now and then. Gem almost always found her by herself.
Gem shook his head, trying to erase the thoughts and memories. He wasn’t Bethany, and he didn’t have to decide. She said she’d made her own choice. He didn’t have to think about it or be a part of it. He’d just stop coming to her apartment until Sunny’s debt was paid.
The thought gave Gem pause. “Just how much does Sunny owe?”
“I don’t know. Gotta be a few thousand, or he would have paid it back with his winnings sometime.”
“And borrowed more ’cause he was on a streak. You can’t trust gamblers.”
“I know.”
“Do you think you could find out how much?”
“I guess.” Bethany shrugged. “Why? What are you thinking?”
“I’ll tell you when I know for sure.”
Gem knew he was going to have to do some careful planning. The cops were already out to get him. He was going to have to have the best alibi he’d ever had. And it had to be something he hadn’t used before. Something they couldn’t get around, no matter how hard they tried.
* * *
As soon as he heard they had a warrant out on Gem, Riker had to be there to see the boy brought in. Riker was almost giddy. They had him this time. It might not be enough to put him away for as long as Riker would have liked, but it was undeniable. Gem had no defense this time.
They had him as clear as day on an ATM security camera. Face, profile, back; they had it all, and time stamped too. They could see the whole drama like the exaggerated acting of a silent film. Gem coming up behind Bernard at the ATM. Bernard turning to see who it was, terrified. Gem with his arm tight around Bernard’s throat—his arm healed and cast off now—whispering threats in his ear. And that stupid, careless kid jabbing his piece into Bernard’s throat right in front of the security camera. There was no actual violence done. But the use of the gun to threaten someone was still a crime. They could send him away for it. Maybe pad it out with some other charges.
A beat cop in the gang’s territory managed to track Gem down and bring him in. Riker played the surveillance video for him. Gem just sat there in silence.
“Well, Johnson? What do you have to say for yourself now?”
Gem shrugged. “I got nothing to say.”
“No alibi?” Riker persisted.
“No.”
Riker’s heart leapt. It wasn’t much. Not when they knew Gem had committed murder and armed robbery. But it was a start. They got Capone on tax evasion, didn’t they?
“I want a lawyer,” Gem said.
“You got one, or you want legal aid?”
“Legal aid.”
“I’ll call them for you. It’s not like anyone can get you off this time.” Riker couldn’t stop smiling, happy as a kid in a candy store.
Gem rolled his eyes, leaning back in his chair with his arms folded across his chest with the tough and unconcerned posture of a hood. He had no answer.
After his lawyer had gone, Gem overheard them saying that the juvie facility was under lockdown, and no one was going in or coming out, which meant that Gem was staying in the city lockup. Special arrangements would have to be made. Gem watched Riker huddle with a cop out of Gem’s hearing. Riker watched Gem the whole time he talked to the cop. The cop escorted Gem to the cell block.
“They want the kid to get special treatment,” the cop sneered. He glanced over the log book and planted his finger on one of the cells in the diagram.
“Put him in there.”
The other cop dutifully wrote down Gem’s statistics and took him into the cell block. They walked past a row of occupied cells and stopped in front of an empty one. But then the cop unlocked the cell across the corridor from the empty cell and pushed Gem into it.
Gem surveyed the surly occupants of the cell as the door locked behind him.
Special treatment, indeed.
Put the kid in the cell with the worst offenders. See how long it takes them to break him down.
But they didn’t know about Gem’s past. Or his mission. He could survive one more night of abuse behind locked doors for Bethany’s sake.
They weren’t going to do anything to him that hadn’t been done before.
“Hey, Riker, where’s the video machine that you had yesterday?” Dimitri questioned.
“Still in room B. Why?”
“Central sent us the surveillance video from the bank holdup. Someone thought the perp was wearing gang colors. They’re hoping we can identify him.”
“Put it on; let’s take a look.”
Dimitri took the video into the interrogation room and put it in. Riker watched the flickering screen for a few seconds and frowned in disbelief. “It’s Gem Johnson. I’ve already got him in a cell.”
“You what?”
“What a stupid kid! Gets caught on camera twice in one night! He certainly kept himself busy!”
“Are you sure it’s him?” Dimitri said doubtfully.
“Watch my video,” Riker put it back in and pressed play.
They both watched it in silence. Dimitri shook his head. “It could be the same kid on mine, but it’s hard to tell. The clothes are different, and you can’t see his face in mine.”
“Oh, it’s him. I know this kid. His build, the way he moves. You can see his profile for a second.” Riker pointed at the screen. “We couldn’t get him on armed robbery before, but we knew he’d done it.”
“Well, if you’ve still got him here, why don’t we talk to him?”
Riker nodded. “I’ll fetch him.”
Riker went with the officer on duty to the cell Gem was in. He spotted Gem sitting on the floor with his back against the wall, face buried in his bent knees. Riker focused in on the others in the cell. A nasty-looking bunch of men.
“I gave specific instructions he was not to be jailed with any adults.”
“I didn’t put him in here,” the officer said immediately.
He opened the door, calling Gem’s name gruffly. Gem didn’t move. The officer shook his head and went into the cell to retrieve him, one hand resting on the butt of his gun. “Come on, kid.”
He grabbed Gem’s arm and pulled him to his feet. Gem shuffled out, head down. Riker studied him. Gem’s face was bruised. He moved gingerly. Riker took Gem by the arm and escorted him to the interrogation room. Gem flopped into the chair, winced, and readjusted several times, searching for a comfortable position.
“I told them to put you in a cell by yourself,” Riker said guiltily. This kid had already been through a rough enough time at the hands of men like the ones in that cell.
Gem hardly raised his head. “Sure, boss,” he said flatly.
His eyes were gray and dead. The taunting Gem that Riker had met before was hidden miles below those veiled eyes. This was the Gem who had been rescued from Raphael’s shop. Distant and untouchable, blocking out the pain.
“Do you want to see a doctor?” Riker suggested.
“No.”
“You want a coffee?”
“Yeah. Sure.”
Riker left him alone for a moment to get a cup of undrinkable coffee. On his return, Gem didn’t appear to have moved a muscle.
“Here you go. Are you sure you’re okay?”
“Yeah.”
Riker let him drink half the cup before pursuing the interrogation. “I’ve got another video for you to watch.”
Gem shrugged. Riker played the short video clip of the bank holdup and Gem watched it without a flicker of expression.
“Well?” Riker prodded.
“What?”
“That was you.”
“No.”
“I recognize you! Don’t try to snow me.”
“I wasn’t there.”
“Where were you, then?”
“What time?”
There was a timestamp on the video, which Riker pointed to. “Six-thirty. Right before closing time.”
The ghost of a smile passed over Gem’s face. “I was having a chat with my buddy Bernardo.”
Riker thought his heart would stop. There was a timestamp on the other video too. Riker was afraid to put it in. Gem’s eyes livened up a little, looking more like himself. Riker stood up and switched videos again. The timestamp was the same in both videos. Six-thirty. Gem’s face was clear on the video with Bernard. In the video of the bank, the perp’s face was hidden by a baseball cap. Gem couldn’t be the boy in both videos unless he’d somehow managed to tamper with the timekeeping system in one of the cameras.
Riker left the room and looked for Dimitri. “What was the take in that bank heist?” he demanded.
“A few hundred thou’. What’s wrong? Your guy didn’t confess?”
“Not only that. Your video and mine were recorded at the same time.”
Dimitri snickered. “Then I guess he’s not the one on my video.”
“Unless he managed to hack into the security system somehow…”
Dimitri shook his head. “Give it up. You can’t stick him with both. As a matter of fact, you’ll be lucky to stick him with either, now.”
“Why? I’ve got his face clear as day on my video.”
“Because all his lawyer has to do is bring the other video into evidence. The kid knows it exists because you showed it to him.”
Riker swore angrily. “He’s not getting off the weapons charges. The bank heist video never shows his face. We’ll deny it’s him.”
“Good luck.”
Gem told his lawyer he would plead out on the weapons charges and pay fines. Riker wanted him to do time, but the prosecutor was happy to let Gem cop the plea.
Riker heard later that Gem paid in cash.
Thrasher was reluctant to allow Gem to pay Sunny’s debt off, but in the end, he accepted the money for Bethany’s freedom.
“If he borrows from the Rippers again, he can’t use Bethany as collateral,” Gem said.
“I dunno that she’ll want to go back to Sunny after this,” Thrasher said with a shrug. “I wouldn’t. And I think her and Little D are getting pretty serious.”
“Dietrich?”
“Yeah. I guess ’cause he’s younger like her. Or maybe it’s that shy country boy look of his.”
“I didn’t know she had a special guy,” Gem said, depression settling in.
“No,” Thrasher agreed. “She’s pretty discreet.”
CHAPTER TEN
HE SAT IN the pub by himself. The bouncer had considered refusing him entrance, but had probably decided that by himself, one boy wouldn’t cause problems, but an angry banger returning with a group of Rippers might be more than they could handle. So he was allowed to sit peacefully with his thoughts as he had on other occasions. His eyes were on the TV, but the fact was, he didn’t even know what it was showing. He was startled by a tap on his shoulder. Turning, he saw Bethany there, looking uncertain.
“Hi, Bethany.” He forced a smile.
“Hey, Gem. Want some company?”
“Sure.” He looked around. “You want a booth? More private than the bar.”
