CHAPTER 9
"Mom," I said, "can I talk to you guys for a minute?"
"Sure, honey."
The neighbors were wandering home, muttering to each other about That Boy Eddie. We sat on the steps, and I began. Bill handed me a handkerchief, as I was starting my Waterworks again.
"Mom," I said, "why do parents hit their kids?"
She and Bill looked at each other.
"Well," she began, "I guess it's to teach them right from wrong. I don't hit you because I don't believe in punishing kids that way. But, some parents feel differently."
Bill nodded.
She lifted my chin and looked into my eyes. "What makes you ask that, honey?"
So, I told her about Stinky's Dad and the black and blue marks on his back, the whole story.
Bill's mouth was set in a hard line, and Mom had her hand up to her mouth. They were silent, and I wondered if I should have told them. Actually, it was a Club secret. I guess I was a squealer.
Bill said, "He's staying here tonight, right?"
I nodded.
"Good. Tomorrow I'll take him home and talk to his Dad."
"But," I said, "Stinky will be in even more trouble then, won't he?"
He smiled a funny smile. "You just let me handle that, okay?"
"Okay," I said, glad to have that off my mind. At least one of our dreams might come true.
We headed in the house, with Cotton under my arm. The kids were sitting in the living room, silent.
"Hey kids," my Mom said, "how about some hot chocolate and cookies?"
Their faces lit up, and they started chattering in unison about everything and nothing.
We sat in the kitchen, gulping and slurping our hot chocolate, dunking the marshmallows and giggling. My Mom mopped the floor. Bill watched her, and had that funny look on his face again. I nudged Mary, and we started giggling again.
He had already put cardboard up on the window, and said he'd come tomorrow and put in a new pane of glass. Looking around the kitchen, he said, "This kitchen could use a coat of paint, too. How about I paint it for you next weekend?"
My Mom stopped her mopping. "Well, that's a very nice offer, Bill. But I can't ask you to do that."
Come ON Mom, cooperate, would you? I figured I better help out here.
"Yeah,Mom," I said, with my mouth full of cookies, "I could help him."
She rolled her eyes. "Oh, brother, that's all we need."
Everybody laughed.
Then she told us we'd better get ourselves to bed. We booed and hissed, but she made us go anyway.
I was last to leave the kitchen, and turned back to see them staring at each other in that funny way again. YES!
My Mom came in the bedroom a while later, and I told her we were still a little scared.
"It's okay," she said, as she sat on my bed and talked with us, "Bill is having a squad car stay outside all night."
Then, we felt better.
"Mom," I said, "what will happen to the Man in the Red Jacket?"
She looked serious. "He'll be charged with the murder of the man in the field. With your testimony and the other evidence the police have, it should be enough to convict him."
Should be? It HAD to be, I sure didn't want to meet up with this guy again!
Looking at us tenderly, my Mom said, "You all may need to testify at his trial. Do you think you'd be able to do that?"
"What's testify?" asked Mary.
"Well," Mom said, "you go to the courtroom, and tell just exactly what happened in the field, and here at the house."
"You mean like when Detective Morgan asked us questions?" Mikey asked.
"Yes, honey," she said, "something like that."
"You mean," I said, "we have to identify the perp?"
This started us on another kissing-fest.
"Puuuurp," I said, lips pursed.
"Puuuurp," said Mikey and Mary.
Stinky pursed his lips. "Puuuurp," he said. Hey, this kid was fitting right in.
My Mom laughed. "You guys are impossible. Really, though, it won't be that bad. It might even be kind of interesting seeing the courtroom and all."
Interesting? That kind of interest I could do without.
We slept okay, except Mary had a nightmare, so my Mom had to come in once.
The next day, Bill came over to take Stinky home."Come here, Bart," he told him while we stood on the porch. Bill had his blue cop uniform on, and Stinky looked scared. Bill pulled up his shirt, saw the bruises, and his mouth had the same hard line again. "It's okay, son. I'll take care of this."
Mikey and Mary had gone home, after Bella called on the phone and screamed something to my Mom. I guess they let her out of the hospital.
The three of us, Bill, Stinky and I headed towards Stinky's apartment in Bill's patrol car. Stinky sat in front with Bill.
As we approached Taft Street, I noticed the guys hanging out on the street corners again. But, they left when they saw Bill's patrol car. I wondered where they went, and what their Moms and Dads were like.
Stinky was silent, and stared straight ahead, not even looking at the guys on the street corners.
When we got to Stinky's apartment, Bill knocked loudly. We could hear his patrol car radio squawking, and a few interested people gathered and watched us.
Stinky's Dad answered the door. It looked like he wore the same grubby clothes as yesterday. He looked from Bill to Stinky, and said to him, "What'd you do NOW, boy?"
I could see Bill checking out this guy, smelling the beer and all. "He didn't do anything, sir," Bill said quietly, "I've come to talk to you about something."
Now, Stinky's Dad looked scared, and he smiled a little nervous smile. "I didn't do anything officer. If it's about those tickets I didn't pay---"
"No," Bill interrupted in the same quiet voice, "nothing like that." He had Stinky turn around, and pulled up his shirt. "Did you do this?" he asked him.
Stinky's Dad turned white, and started to stammer. "You...you know how it is, officer...kids have accidents sometimes."
Bill looked at him coldly. "This, sir, is no accident. We saw these bruises when the kids were getting ready for bed. And, we know what caused them, too."
Stinky dropped his shirt down, turned around, and looked at the nubby balcony floor.
Bill continued, "Because I'm in law enforcement, I have to report this to Social Services. Be expecting a visit from them. But in the mean time," and now his voice was low and he talked through gritted teeth, "if you ever touch this boy again with anything other than love, I'll come back and arrest you." And, as an afterthought, he added, "If you feel like hitting someone, I was golden glove boxing champion in college. I'd love to take you on."
Boy, the things you learn on a simple ride home. Bill was smiling at him now, but not a regular smile. Stinky's Dad looked worried, and called Stinky to come over to him, and put one arm around him. "They wouldn't take my boy away, would they?"
Bill looked at him with a nicer look. "That all depends on you, sir."
Stinky's Dad rubbed his eyes. "You know, the old lady ran off a year ago. Left me with the two kids. It's been tough."
"I can imagine," said Bill, looking concerned. "Thanks, mister," said Stinky's Dad, "thanks for reminding me what's important."
Bill nodded, and we left.
CHAPTER 10
Everything worked out okay eventually. We talked about it as we rode our bikes to the Mall a few weeks later. Mary pedaled hard, trying to keep up with us, so Mikey and I slowed down a bit.
"Eddie," she gasped, "where did Stinky's Dad go again?"
"To A.A."
"Is that like Auto Club?"
"No, dummy." I had asked my Mom the same question, but I wasn't going to tell Mary that. "Triple A is the Auto Club. Double A is this place where people go when they drink too much beer and liquor."
"Oh," she said. We
hit a down slope and cruised for a while. "What do they do there?"
"My Mom says they take this pledge to never drink again. Then they talk about all the stuff that's bothering them."
This was good news to us. After all, Stinky had saved our lives with his teeth and with his Tarzan call. We owed him a lot.
We were all scheduled to testify at Mr. Red Jacket's trial in a few months, but we were going to Disneyland first.
We won a reward for catching the Man in the Red Jacket. My Mom said it was enough to go to Disneyland, buy three paint-ball guns, and make a nice donation to the animal shelter.
I guess some old guy's son was killed by the Man in the Red Jacket, so he posted a reward for anyone helping to catch him.
Mom and Bill are still going on dates, and still looking at each other funny. Bill's teaching me how to box, and he takes me a lot of places. We go to the shooting range, because he says I have to shoot better before I can paint-ball properly.
We don't go to the field anymore. The Club meets most of the time in my teepee. There are a lot of kids now who want to join our Club. Mary says we need more girls, and we're thinking about who we want.
We're working on the Big Screen T.V., and with tightwad Mary as our treasurer, I'm sure it won't be long before we're able to get one.
So, almost all our dreams were fulfilled. It always pays to have a dream. If you don't, it can't come true, right? I knew the Dad dream would be the hardest one. But, if my Mom cooperates and Bill asks her what I think he's going to ask her, that one will come true too.
THE END
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