She nodded. “So you didn’t see the driver hop out? You didn’t see anybody keeping a close eye on the truck? You didn’t see anybody walking away from the truck?”
“Well, one guy was walking up the street, when I was looking at the truck, but he didn’t turn around or anything. So, I wondered if it was him, but he didn’t appear to care.”
“That’s because he was focused on the chaos he had caused around the corner,” she said quietly. “Can you give me a description of him?”
“Not really. Jeans, looked like he wore an old bomber-style jacket but jeans-colored, you know? Just one of those little short things, and he had on a baseball cap.”
At that, her heart slammed. “And that would probably be him,” she said quietly. “Anything else you can tell me?”
He shook his head. “I just,… honestly, he just looked like he was striding away. He was in a hurry.”
“And it didn’t compute that he was in a hurry and that he would be right back?”
“Apparently nothing computed,” he said, staring at her, downcast.
Just then, the door opened, and Rodney returned. With him was a big barrel of a man, worry written all across his face. When he saw his son, he breathed a sigh of relief. Then he pulled up the spare chair and sat down. “What the hell is going on?” he asked her.
She sat back, as the man glared at her. “I’m Detective Kate Morgan,” she said coolly. “Your son stole a truck.”
He looked at her in shock, looked at his son, then back at her, and said, “No fucking way.”
Her eyebrows shot up. “Maybe you should ask your son.”
He turned, looked at the kid, and said, “Chuck, tell me the truth. What did you do?”
“I stole a truck,” he said faintly.
His dad sat back, complete and utter shock and disappointment on his face.
She knew what was about to come. She jumped up and pushed back her chair. “I know you’re about to blow,” she interjected, “but not on my turf, not on my time.”
He looked at her, completely flummoxed, as she cut him off right there. He burst onto his feet, his fist coming up.
“You already got your one free pass,” she warned him. “So, if a fist lands on him or me,” she said, “I’ll take you down and put you in jail, so you can sit in there and cool off.”
At that, the kid jumped up and said, “Dad, don’t, please don’t. Come on. Calm down. I ’fessed up. I didn’t really mean to do it,” he said, “and it wouldn’t probably be such a big deal, but the truck—it was just used in a drive-by shooting, and two guys were killed. That’s why it was just sitting there, idling.”
At that, his dad looked at him and said, “Holy fuck.”
“I know. I know. When I cross the line, I always go way too far. But I didn’t know anything about the truck. I had no idea it was being used for that. I didn’t know anything about the killing,” he said. “I was down at the pool hall with the guys.”
“The guys I told you to stay away from.”
“Yeah, I know you don’t like them, but I don’t have any other friends. Everybody else is online, and it’s pretty damn hard to meet people these days. I’ve known these guys for years.”
“So, you’re sitting there, smoking your weed, and you think it’s a damn good idea to hop in somebody else’s truck and take off, is that it?”
As far as Kate was concerned, that was a pretty good summation.
The kid slowly nodded his head.
“Oh my God,” the dad said. “I’ve got to get some air.” And, with that, he slammed the chair back down again and bolted from the room.
She looked at the kid. “Well, Chuck, I guess you need to sit here for a little bit.” And, with that, she got up and walked to the door.
“What will I get charged with?” he asked anxiously.
“Grand theft auto. Isn’t that one of the games you like to play?” And, with that, she turned and walked out.