A New Hope (Thunder Point #8)(84)

The place wasn’t a complete ghetto and drug haven. But it was poor. Very poor. And there was no place for a boy to play; no beach or park. She had no idea where the school was but if Charlie had to walk there, he would be crossing railroad tracks, industrial parks, storage lockers and passing the convenience store, bar and seedy motel.

She stopped at the entrance of the trailer park, made sure her doors were locked and turned on the dome light to program her GPS to take her home, though she was certain she could remember the way. Then she got out of there.

She was sure it looked a lot better by the light of day. After all, not having a lot of money was no crime. She even thought about taking a drive out this way the next day to see if her worst instincts were confirmed or if she was just scared of the dark. There was one reality she was certain of—Thunder Point didn’t look like that after dark. And if there were drug dealers in town, they were very well hidden. And domestic disputes? Seth hated them, but he took action—no one was waving beer bottles around, yelling at each other in their yards.

When she got home, she dropped Charlie’s backpack on one of the dining room chairs.

“Grace?” her mother called.

She went to her mother’s bedroom.

“Lin Su phoned,” Winnie said. “She wanted me to know Charlie left his backpack behind and that they’d catch up with it in the morning. I told her you were taking it to him.”

“I got lost,” Grace said. “Rather than hunting in the dark, I just gave up. Would you like me to call her and tell her not to watch for me?”

“I can do it,” Winnie said.

“Good. His backpack is on the dining room chair. Tell her I’m sorry she was waiting for me. I made a couple of wrong turns and got frustrated, not knowing where I was going, so I just came home. I figured by the time I got straightened out Charlie would be in bed anyway.” She faked a yawn. “Which is where I’m going. Is Mikhail going to watch television with you tonight?”

“I imagine so. He’s gone upstairs to get into his comfortable pants and slippers.”

“I’m going to lock up and go to bed.”

“I thought we never locked anything,” Winnie said.

“Tonight I’m locking up. Because...uh, because I usually forget but tonight I remembered. Good night, Mama.”

Downstairs in the quarters she shared with her husband she told him about her little adventure. “It’s probably not nearly as bad as it looked, but my first thought was—they’re very vulnerable living in a seedy neighborhood in a trailer that can barely keep the wind out. I don’t know how to handle that. I can’t stand to think they might be at risk. Either of them. Lin Su’s a single woman and Charlie is a small boy.”

“Why don’t you give me that address. I’ll drive over that way and look around, see where the schools are, what the neighborhoods look like in the light of day, just kind of see if I’d live there. My apartment wasn’t exactly high-rent.”

“We live in a million-dollar house,” she reminded him. “We might not be the most objective.”

“Well, Winnie lives in a house that cost a million plus and we live with Winnie. I grew up the son of a teacher and a city maintenance worker. Our neighborhood was safe and clean but it wasn’t exactly chi-chi.” Then he laughed.

* * *

The next day at about noon Troy wandered into the flower shop. He said hello to Ginger then invited Grace to walk down to the deli with him to check out the day’s specials. “Then I’ll know if I have to make a store run before dinner.”

Once they were outside he fessed up. “I went to look around Lin Su’s neighborhood. It was pretty well balanced between little old people on fixed incomes without a lot to spare, some unemployed, some down on their luck and some real badasses. I don’t know how it looked in the dark but it was pretty tame in the light of day. I’d live there, but I’d have a baseball bat under my bed.”

“Oh, Troy.”

“I even talked to a couple of folks. They were elderly. I said I was looking for something for my sister to rent and asked if a single woman would feel safe there. One old guy said there was a single nurse in the park and he looked out for her. He’d be just as willing to look out for my sister. That was nice. Not that he could, however. Look after anyone. This old guy was no Rawley, if you get my drift.”

“They sell drugs in that trailer park!” Grace said in a heated whisper. “And what is this business about her eating cereal at night? She’s always had a perfectly good appetite around here. I think she’s saving real food for Charlie.”

“Maybe she has debt,” Troy said with a shrug. “I’m no stranger to debt. Listen, I think this can be remedied,” he said. “I think it would be best if you’d be chairman of this project. Winnie would just offend Lin Su by not approving of her residence and try to give her something. Hell, I’m sure Lin Su doesn’t approve of her own residence, but she has to live tight and she has pride. I think there’s probably a solution in Thunder Point. Let’s start by getting her committed to letting Charlie go to school here. Then we can look around for something affordable. It won’t be fancy but I don’t think she’s looking for fancy. One step at a time, okay? Can you try to be patient?”

“I can try,” Grace said. “I didn’t sleep well last night. Could you maybe loan her a baseball bat or something?”