Chapter Six
Leo was surprised to hear the doorbell ring again a few minutes after his daughter and her friends had left for the dance. Frowning, he opened it to find a group of neighborhood boys. “Is there something I can help you with?” he asked carefully.
“Mr. George,” Barry said, taking a step forward to separate from the rest of the group. “There’s something I have to tell you that I heard.”
“Well, hurry up,” Leo said. “I want to go to the drugstore to get some pictures developed,” he explained, holding up his camera. “Heaven wants to see the pictures by the time she returns from the dance.”
“I can understand that, sir,” Barry said.
“Me too,” Vernon said from behind him.
“So what’s going on?” Leo asked, leaning against the door.
“First of all, we heard some strange sounds coming from your house a few nights ago and we apologize for not saying anything sooner. We tried talking to Clark and Donnie about it, but they wouldn’t listen to us.”
“What sounds? What about Clark and Donnie—”
“Please listen,” Vernon said, noticing that Leo was beginning to frown. “Mr. George, we have nowhere else to turn now.”
“Don’t waste my time,” Leo grunted. “What are you talking about?”
“What we’re talking about,” Barry said, “is something that you may find hard to believe at first, sir, but you must at least hear us out.”
“I’m hearing you out right now but my patience is beginning to run a bit thin, boys.”
“A few nights ago,” Vernon said, noticing that Barry didn’t have the strength to say the words. God, how they could have used Cole in that moment but he was also at the fall dance. “We saw that guy—”
“What guy?” Leo said, growing upset. “What’s going on?”
“Leaving your daughter’s bedroom window,” Vernon added.
“What? Clark?” Leo seethed.
“No, not Clark—”
“Not Clark?” Leo asked, misunderstanding. “Are you trying to say that my daughter was with someone else, other than her boyfriend, a few nights ago?”
“No,” Barry said, frantically waving his arms around. “That’s not what we’re saying at all. We think—”
“Tell me now.”
“He was leaving the place and he was talking—” Barry started to explain but Leo started to shove past him.
“I don’t have time for this,” he said, slamming the door behind him and locking it.
“Please, Mr. George,” Barry begged, stepping in front of him. “You have to hear this!” Vernon and Barry quickly started following Heaven’s father as he tried to storm past them to get to his car. “If you at least won’t listen to us, will you tell us where Heaven was a few nights ago?”
“Are you accusing my daughter of what I think you are?” Leo said, snapping back around. “Get out of my face!” he shouted. “I’m going to get these pictures developed and then I’m going to pick up my daughter from the dance and you two clowns better not be here when I get back.”
“Sir, please,” Vernon said. “You don’t understand.”
“You are accusing my daughter of being a…” he shook his head, “I…I can’t even say the words. Are you boys on drugs? I’m going to call all your parents if you are.”
“No, Mr. George, we’re not high. But sir—”
“For God’s sake, leave me alone.” Jumping into his car, he quickly started up the engine and pulled away, leaving the two boys to stand there rubbing the back of their necks.
“I think we made things worse,” Vernon said.
“Gee, you think?” Barry said. “Jesus, now he thinks that we think Heaven’s a slut. What do we do now?”
“We have to find a way to make sure that those guys don’t get away with this. It isn’t right,” Vernon said. “Leo’s going to be upset—”
“Did you see how angry he got just at the thought of his daughter with another guy?”
“We have to talk to Cole…or someone else and explain this so Mr. George doesn’t get the wrong idea.”
“Cole’s at the dance,” Barry said.
“Dammit,” Vernon said, taking a seat in Leo’s driveway. “I suppose now the only thing we can do is wait.”
Act Four