Look For Me (Detective D.D. Warren #9)(43)

He didn’t speak, but at his side, his fingers slowed their drumming. A tell, I thought. A sign he was lying, or about to lie. But he didn’t speak. Just stared around me.

Such a bright, sunny day. So many giggling little kids, such a happy park.

I wished I could tell this boy I knew how he felt, about his outsider friend, about his outsider life. That he wasn’t the only one who felt the sun on his face but not in his heart.

“Do you know where Roxanna is now?” I asked him.

He shook his head, but I wasn’t convinced.

“Do you still live at Mother Del’s?”

“Two more years,” he said. Which meant while he might know where Roxy was, no way was she staying with him back at the scene of evil foster care. So where, then?

“Roberto and Anya?” I asked. “Are they still at Mother Del’s?”

“Roberto liked to make kids cry. Just because he could. Roxy taught me how to take care of the babies. After she and Lola left, I stayed with the babies. They’re better than Roberto.”

“Did Roberto pay special attention to Lola?” Even as I said it, I did some quick math in my head. Juanita had lost custody of the kids four or five years ago. Meaning Roxanna would’ve been eleven, Lola eight? Eight sounded very young and helpless. Which, according to what Mike was saying, would make her the perfect target for Roberto.

“Everyone paid special attention to Lola,” Mike said. “She’s very pretty. Too pretty, Roxy said.”

“I bet that was hard,” I said. “Roxy must have worried about Lola very much, especially around Roberto.”

“Roberto is dead,” Mike stated.

“What?”

“June. Shot himself. Mother Del was mad. Anya cried. The rest of us, no.”

“Evil Roberto? The one who tortured everyone, picked on Lola, he’s dead?” Of all the things, I wasn’t expecting this.

“Beginning of June. Right before school got out. Suicide. Single shot to the forehead. Boom.”

“What did Roxy say?”

Mike shrugged. “Not much.”

“Why? You made it sound like he was a bully, first at the foster home, now at the high school you both attend. Wasn’t she happy he was dead?”

Mike shrugged. “Roxanna didn’t say much.”

“And you?”

“I didn’t say much either.”

I was very confused now. “What about Lola?”

Another shrug. More bouncing.

“Mike, Roxy came to me and my friend, looking for help. She was very scared. This was just a few weeks ago, so apparently after Roberto died. Do you know what Roxanna was still so afraid of?”

“Home,” he said.

“She was afraid of home? Like, afraid of her mom? Or Charlie the contractor? What about Hector, her little brother’s father. Did she mention him?”

“Roxy was afraid for Lola.”

“Something was happening to Lola at home? Again, like with Charlie the contractor? Was he abusing her? Is that what Roxy said?”

“Lola was mad at Roxy. Lola told Roxy she wasn’t her mother. But then Lola was mad at their mother, too.”

“Why?”

“Because she’s Lola. Roxy would say trouble is what Lola did best.”

“Mike, help me understand. Whatever Roxy was worried about, she must’ve had good reason. Because everyone is dead now, including Lola. What happened? Help me, before Roxy is next.”

“Roxy didn’t hurt them. She protected Lola. That was her job.”

“And at Mother Del’s, did she always protect Lola?”

Mike wouldn’t meet her gaze.

“Could she even protect herself?”

He kept staring at the ground. No more jangling. Utter stillness, which somehow felt worse.

“I protected Roxy. Roxy protected Lola. We tried our best.”

“But it wasn’t always enough,” I filled in.

“Roberto is dead. But not everyone is as easy to kill.”

“Mike, wait—!”

Too late, however. He’d said his piece. Now, he turned and walked away without a backward glance.

? ? ?

I STAYED WHERE I WAS. Pretended to fiddle with the zipper on my windbreaker, adjust the Patriots cap on my head. It wasn’t hard to appear distracted, as I had so many thoughts racing through my head.

Out of the corner of my eye, I watched as Mike Davis exited the park. Then, a heartbeat later, another familiar form appeared half a dozen steps behind and followed him out.

Sarah, on the hunt.

I hoped I’d taught her well.





Chapter 17


Name: Roxanna Baez

Grade: 11

Teacher: Mrs. Chula

Category: Personal Narrative

What Is the Perfect Family? Part III

The judge shows us the children’s garden. It’s a kidney-shaped patch of dirt in a bright spot near the back steps of the courthouse. There’s a small tree in the middle. Pear tree, he tells us, flowers beautifully in the spring. A five-year-old planted it two decades ago, the judge’s first family case. Since then, he’s invited all children to add to the garden. Lola, Manny, and I each have little four-packs of pansies. The flowers will bloom this fall, he explains to us, then die back for the winter. But—he pauses for dramatic effect, staring pointedly at Manny—not before seeding themselves. Meaning we can see our pansies again in the spring. Growing bigger and stronger. Just like us.