Note: This story was dynamically reformatted for online reading convenience. >The Pool Girl by Leto Armitage Chapter 44 Detective Connors was a good six inches shorter than me with a serious face. I remained standing as he approached and handed me several pieces of paper stapled together. -This is our warrant, - was all he said. I took the paper. -Excuse me, I only have one hand, I need to sit. - -Are those your tablet and phone? - He pointed to the two devices. -Yes. - -I will need those. - I didn -(TM)t respond but sat and put the papers on the table as he picked up the electronics. I skimmed but wasn -(TM)t used to reading the legalize. There was something about an affidavit, testimony, and evidence that suggested I would have child pornography, exploitation of minors, phones, and other electronics of any residents here. Holy shit. I looked up at him. -All right, wow. Well, take what you need I guess. - He stared at me. Meilin had taken her seat again. Officers were now walking around and taking Melissa and Lavi -(TM)s phones and putting them in labeled bags. Lavi wanted to make a call but the officer stopped her saying that they could not use the devices as we could destroy evidence but they would arrange for calls later. An officer reached towards Meilin -(TM)s purse but she snatched it away and began saying something in Chinese. The officer said, -Ma -(TM)am, you need to give me your devices. - Meilin responded in Chinese. He looked at Ji, -Does she speak English? - Ji looked at him and said something in Chinese. My knowledge of Chinese is mostly limited to food but I -(TM)m pretty sure I heard the word for -~pig. -(TM) I spoke up, -Excuse me, this says for residents of the house, they aren -(TM)t. Only Lavi, Melissa, and I are. - Connors motioned for the officer to step away. -You -(TM)re right Mr. Carlo. However, I will need you and your guests to stay here while we conduct the search. Now, do you have anything we should be aware of? Any weapons, traps, dangerous animals? - -I don -(TM)t have any pets. Uh... - This was overwhelming. -I have a taser in my office. Girls, where are yours? - -Bedside table, - Melissa said, -both of our -(TM)s. - He noted in a little pad he was writing in. -What else did you say? Traps? Who has traps? - The closest thing to an emotion I had seen so far, amusement, crossed his face. -You might be surprised, Mr. Carlo. - For the next half hour, the five of us sat mostly in silence while two uniformed officers watched us. Connors and the other two officers disappeared into the house. At the end of that time, Connors returned and raised his voice from the patio door into the kitchen. -Mr. Carlo, Ms. Heller, Ms. Milton, can you join me? - We got up and joined him at the kitchen table. Melissa sat her back stiff and straight and stared at Connors as if boring a hole into him with her eyes. Meanwhile, Lavi crossed her arms and looked ready for battle. I just wanted these people gone and to take a nap. -Is this going to take long? - I asked. -Do you have somewhere other to be? - -No, I -(TM)m tired and could use a nap. - Melissa, -Robert is still recovering from a serious injury. - -It will take as long as it takes. Now, I found quite a bit of computer equipment in the house... - -Let me save you some time, - I said. -Everything in the office is mine. The laptop on the desk and Linux server are mine. Everything else is work -(TM)s. The laptop upstairs on the bookshelf is mine, the other two are Melissa and Lavi -(TM)s. - Lavi, -Mine has the anime stickers on it. - Detective Connors looked at us and noted all that. -We will have to take all of it if we take this equipment. - -Can you leave the work stuff? I don -(TM)t want to go through the hassle of replacing it. - He looked at me. -This doesn -(TM)t work like that Mr. Carlo. - -I -(TM)ll log you into it and you can look around see I don -(TM)t have any of this stuff you are looking for. - Melissa looked at me, -What are they looking for? - -Child porn and exploitation of minors evidence, - I said. She rolled her eyes in response. The detective looked at her seriously, -Sixteen is a minor Ms. Milton. - Melissa looked at him with obvious confusion. -So? So, you -(TM)re looking for stuff with sixteen-year-olds? Is that supposed to mean something? - -It doesn -(TM)t? - -No, no it doesn -(TM)t. - Lavi had been sitting there quietly and then raised her voice, -Hey Sirius, message Peter Heller, say Kozinski. - Suddenly the television over my sink came to life with a pulsing ball of light that represented the digital assistant that was always listening. A computerized voice said, -Ready to send. Is this correct? - The name Kozinski was misspelled but it was recognizable. Connors raised his voice and yelled, -Cancel that! - But the assistant had only been calibrated to our voices. Lavi said, -Yes. - And Sirius sent it. -What is Kosinski? - he asked. He was recovering his composure. -Jacob Kozinski of Kozinski and Phillips, - Lavi said. -Ah. - He obviously recognized the name but he looked dubious. -Who at the firm, maybe I know them? - -Uncle Jacob. - She didn -(TM)t say it with any emphasis but Connor -(TM)s eyes darted up from his pad when she did. -He lives on the other side of town but it won -(TM)t take him long to get here. - -Excuse me a moment. - With that, he got up and walked into the living room. I heard voices but couldn -(TM)t make anything out. I found out later that he had called to let his boss know that the biggest criminal defense firm in the city might be involved and to check something else that was very important. When he came back he walked past us and out into the yard where Jiang, Meilin, and June were. He sat down and talked to them for a few minutes. Apparently, Jiang at least confessed to knowing English as I saw her talk to him but she translated for her mother. A few minutes later he came back and was carrying the bag with my phone and tablet. -Mr. Carlo, do you or anyone else here have another phone you haven -(TM)t told us about? - -Not me, - I looked at the girls and they shook their heads. -No cheap disposable ones you got for travel? - -Nah. - -No spare, backup phones? - -I have phone apps on other devices if I really needed to and my tablet has its own cellar data connection. - -I -(TM)m looking for an actual phone that has connected to local towers. Would you mind unlocking your phone for me just so I can check a few things out? - -Uh... - I looked at the girls. -Melissa, Lavi? - Lavi said, -Go for it. Let him get his rocks off. - Melissa looked less enthusiastic but nodded affirmatively. Connors was watching all of us with suspicion. I was really glad I was on heavy meds. He was trying my patience. -We like to make videos. You -(TM)ll find them on any of our phones so it -(TM)s not just my decision to make. - -You have videos, uh, explicit ones of you and, - he motioned in indication, -them? - Melissa traced a finger on the tabletop but coughed and said, -Most is in cloud storage. There -(TM)s kind of ... a lot. - -By a lot you mean... - She shrugged with hostile eyes. -Most of the early stuff is in 1080 but the most recent is in 4K. - His eyes remained steady, -Anyone else in these? - -No one under eighteen, - I said. -The timestamps will show that but they have a right to their privacy. For that matter, I don -(TM)t like the idea of letting anyone go through my stuff but this is ridiculous so if it will get rid of you I -(TM)m glad to. I don -(TM)t know what you -(TM)re hoping to accomplish though. If I had a cell phone I wanted to hide how the hell would you find it? - -Mr. Carlo, - he sighed, -look, let me back up. This is unusual for me. I have reason to think we made a mistake today and you might be able to help me out but I need to make sure of a few things first. - -I -(TM)m willing to give consent for you to look through my phone except for the camera roll. - Lavi leaned forward, -You should wait for Jacob. - Connors looked at me, -Understood, you are granting limited consent. To be clear, may I check your messages, email, settings and look at other apps? - -Sure. The code is... - And I told him the code. He got the phone from the evidence bag, signed in, looked through the phone for several minutes, and then bizarrely began looking at the case especially along the side of the phone. Then he pulled something out of his jacket pocket. I blinked because I thought I might be imagining it. He brought out an actual magnifying glass. It was square and looked like it was made of plastic but he looked very carefully all around the phone. He turned the screen off and put the phone back into the bag. I waited but when he put the phone up asked, -Any chance you can tell me what this about? - To my surprise, he didn -(TM)t look back at me but at Melissa. -Ms. Milton, how long have you known Mr. Carlo. - -Since April or May, I don -(TM)t remember exactly. - -This past April or May? - -Yes. - -So, you were, - he looked at his notebook, -seventeen? - -Yes, but it was platonic. We didn -(TM)t get involved until I was eighteen. - -How soon? - She shrugged. -A few weeks. We were reading Steinbeck and I didn -(TM)t do the reading and it was hot and ... well, you don -(TM)t want to know all that. - He raised an eyebrow. -Steinbeck? - -He had started reading the stuff on my AP English summer reading list so we could discuss it together. Our relationship really delayed us finishing it. - -So, what was it? - -Grapes of Wrath. We still don -(TM)t agree on Joad and Casy. - -You are not going to convince me that deconstructionism is valid with works so rooted in a particular social context, - I said. She rolled her eyes. He was still making notes but his hand motion seemed less smooth. -And Ms. Heller, how did you become involved in this relationship? - -Well, see when a woman loves a woman and man and gets horny... - -Lavi. - That was Melissa. -Really not the time or place. - -Whatever. - Lavi crossed her arms. -Short version. I -(TM)ve been pining for Mellie since 8th grade. She went through a self-discovery thing with Robert and finally admitted to herself she -(TM)s not straight. I decided I -(TM)d rather put up with some dude and sharing her with him than maybe losing her after finally getting her head straight. Then... - she looked at me and her face softened -and I cut myself on a glass and he held my bloody hand rather than mess up my robe and I fell in love with the goober too. - I tried to not say anything as I wiped at my eye, discretely. Detective Connors continued to make notes, -And how did you meet Mr. Carlo, Ms. Milton? - -I was looking for work to save up for a car. My brother used to mow his lawn so I asked. He had already gotten a lawn service but he needed his pool taken care of too so I became his, well, pool girl I guess. - -And you both live here now, correct? - Both nodded and Melissa said, -Correct. - He looked at a sports watch on his wrist. -Here is my problem. Time is ticking. I need to find the phone and I need co-operation. - -I -(TM)m telling you everything I know, - I said. -Not you, - he said. -Her. - He pointed at Melissa. -Me? - He pulled out his own phone and pulled something up and handed it to Melissa. Her eyes went wide and her mouth opened but nothing came out. -I take it you recognize those, Ms. Milton? - She closed her mouth and handed the phone back and nodded but didn -(TM)t say anything. -How? - she asked. -Someone came forward and presented us with these. They said they had screenshotted them from your phone and sent them to their phone. The messages seemed to be legitimate and they had kept the original messages with images. Combined with your current relationship it raised a legitimate concern. - Lavi, -What is that? - -I can -(TM)t comment Ms. Heller, it is a current investigation. - Melissa ignored him. -It -(TM)s from... - her voice cracked -a few years ago. I installed one of those virtual phone apps and put an ad on a local site for people looking for, uh, companions for a night. - I couldn -(TM)t have heard that right. I looked at Lavi, she was looking at me. -Like, Tinder? - Lavi asked. Melissa breathed deep, -More like pay by the hour. - I didn -(TM)t know what to say. Neither did Lavi. -I never did anything, I was just talking to this guy, seriously! - Lavi, -But you ... I don -(TM)t understand, I mean I don -(TM)t remember you saying... - -It wasn -(TM)t like that. There were reasons but it wasn -(TM)t about doing that or anything like that. I was never going to do anything, I just wanted to talk to this guy. - Connors, -And was this Mr. Carlo? - She shook her head no and dropped the phone and started to cry. I couldn -(TM)t read the screen but there was a screenshot of a messaging screen and where it would show another contact -(TM)s name it just showed a capital -~R. -(TM) I was going to try to see more but Connors quickly picked it up from where it had fallen. Lavi stood up and from behind wrapped her arms around Melissa. I reached out and took her hands. -It ... it... - she was trying to talk through sobs - ... I needed to know what was going on. I needed to know, that -(TM)s all. - -Ms. Milton, Melissa, please listen to me. Did you have a relationship with this man? - She hesitated as if she didn -(TM)t know how to respond to this. -He lives around here doesn -(TM)t he? - She nodded yes. -Melissa, our technicians are working with the phone company. We know it -(TM)s a burner phone and it doesn -(TM)t send a GPS signal so we only know it is between three different towers which include this house. We also know it is active right now. Everyone here said that Robert has been outside with everyone. We have the phone on the other end. There are pictures and messages about meeting up. Some have been sent since we -(TM)ve been here. That phone, the one that one of our child protection officers is using belonged to a thirteen-year-old girl who also put an advertisement on that website. - Her eyes shot open. They were red and she put her hand over her mouth. -We got to her because of tracking that number. There have been others in the last year and we are getting warrants to track those too. We will find who this person is but I think you can tell us. - She sobbed once more and said, -213 Maplewood Dr. - Lavi and I froze. Melissa took a deep breath and steadying herself looked Connors in the eyes. -Can I use your phone or have mine back? - -Why? - -So I can call my mom and tell her you -(TM)re about to arrest her husband. - Chapter 45 Detective Connors did not let Melissa make the call right away. We were taken outside and asked to sit with the others for a little bit. Peter and Sylvia were there in minutes and while Jacob Kosinski didn -(TM)t arrive one of his underlings did shortly after. I found out much later that while we waited Detective Connors was getting a new warrant, only possible late on a Sunday afternoon thanks to it involving children. Melissa hadn -(TM)t been able to keep upright and eventually Lavi and I ended up on either side supporting her on the ground while she stared at nothing. She would occasionally shake with sobs and then go quiet again. Two officers watched us while Connors left and served the new warrant. The lawyer told us that since we weren -(TM)t detained any of us could do as we wanted but warned us that contacting any of the involved parties could be considered interfering with an investigation. We decided to wait. I went inside which made the officers twitchy but I ignored them. I came back with Xanax for Melissa and Lavi. If I hadn -(TM)t already been medicated to the gills I would have taken one too. Sometime later the police got a call on their radios. They emptied everything from the evidence bags, thanked us for our cooperation, and left. With that, it was both over and just beginning. I raised my voice to the officers who were leaving. -Excuse me! - One kept walking but one stopped and looked at me. -Can she call her mom now? - -Yes, sir. - -And her step-father? - -I don -(TM)t know the details sir but he has been arrested. - -Thanks. - He walked off and disappeared through the garden gate. Melissa called her mom. She kept it simple and just said Rian was being arrested for something with a thirteen-year-old. Her mom didn -(TM)t ask questions but said she was going to the house. Melissa started to go over too but Sylvia got her to stay put and went instead. Sylvia met Linda there and they found nothing. The police were gone, the house was empty, it just looked like no one was home. The only thing notable was that Linda -(TM)s desktop computer was gone too as well as Rian -(TM)s laptop. Linda waited for a call but none came. We found out later that Rian called a lawyer but not his wife so if we hadn -(TM)t told her she wouldn -(TM)t have even known he was arrested that afternoon. At some point, Linda came to our house and the others left. I didn -(TM)t really notice except for Meilin who gave me a hug and said Ji was staying to help us with anything we needed. Linda brought with her an overnight bag and I cleaned up the guest bedroom that I usually only used once a year. By eight o -(TM)clock I was in the kitchen with Ji and Lavi. Lavi was slicing bread and Ji was getting out plates. No one was hungry but I felt letting blood sugar fall wasn -(TM)t going to help anyone. -Ji? - -Yeah? - -I can make up the couch if you want. - I didn -(TM)t want to put her on the spot but she had said earlier she -(TM)d like to spend time with us but have her own place to sleep and Linda was in that room now. She seemed indifferent. -That would be fine. - Lavi looked over. -Crash with us. I promise I don -(TM)t kick, - she shrugged, -much. - -I don -(TM)t know. Not that I don -(TM)t like you guys, I do, but I -(TM)m not, you know, in the circle and uh... - I held up a hand. -You don -(TM)t have to explain yourself. And Lavi does kick, a lot. - Lavi stuck her tongue out at me. -But you are a part of our family. You may not be moving in but you are definitely family. - Ji put a hand on her hip, -Fuck buddy family? - I grinned, -Buddy-who-I-fuck family. - Lavi walked and put her arms around Ji. -And I think more comfort is good tonight. For all of us. - -I don -(TM)t want to weird out Mellie or make her think it -(TM)s something it -(TM)s not. - -Melissa has her issues but friendship - that is one thing you don -(TM)t need to worry about her not understanding, - I said. Ji smiled, -Fine, I -(TM)ll sleep with you degenerates tonight. - Lavi kissed Ji -(TM)s cheek. -Good, clothing-optional. We sleep mostly naked though. - Lavi returned to her task and got out the jelly and peanut butter. I had not made peanut butter in a long time but someone had solved this problem by purchasing a large jar of Peter Pan peanut butter. I eyed it. Lavi pointed a butter knife at me. -If you tell me I can make my own peanut butter in five minutes I -(TM)m not making you a sandwich. - I really struggled in that moment, because it does only take a few minutes to make good peanut butter, not that I had peanuts on hand. But even I learn from my mistakes so instead, I said, -I was thinking I -(TM)m glad you got extra crunchy. - She turned back to making the peanut butter and jelly sandwiches without comment. At least we had a few good jellies I -(TM)d made. -I -(TM)d like the strawberry please. - Lavi smiled and returned to making the sandwiches. Ji filled glasses with milk and eventually, two trays, one of glasses and one of the sandwiches were transported by the girls to the living room while I followed. My contribution was more relaxing medication on each plate. My doctor was a saint for not giving me shit about the more recent refill. Melissa and Linda sat on the couch holding hands. Neither looked like they had moved or said anything. We ate in silence. Melissa managed to make eye contact with Lavi and me several times. Linda stared ahead like a zombie. Eventually, everything was consumed and put back on trays. Linda was the first to eventually speak. -We will need to call Tommy, tell him. - -Yeah, I guess so, - Melissa replied. -I -(TM)ll text him. - Linda nodded her consent. -How did this happen? - Her voice was dead lifeless. -What do you mean? - Melissa looked away from her mother at nothing. -The police were here and then there. - Melissa started to reply but her voice caught in her throat. She took a minute. -They were here investigating Robert. But it was really Rian they were looking for. - She looked at Melissa. -I don -(TM)t understand. - Melissa pulled her hand back from her mom and when she spoke it was nervous and rapid. -Someone had old screenshots off my phone. I hadn -(TM)t put a name in, just the initial R. I guess they thought that had to be Robert but it was from a few years ago, before I ever met him. - I could see Linda -(TM)s fingers tightening around a facial tissue she had been using. -You aren -(TM)t making sense. - Melissa took a breath. -Two years ago I began to notice something. Rian had another phone. He only had it out when you were gone and if I came in the room he hid it quickly. - Linda looked at her daughter. -He has a spare phone, pre-paid on another network for emergencies. - A little steel returned to Melissa -(TM)s voice. -It -(TM)s not for emergencies mom. And you don -(TM)t keep a thumb drive with a phone for emergencies. - Linda took a breath. -It -(TM)s for work, he uses the phone for work calls sometimes and information on the USB stick. - -Really mom? A working phone he keeps turned off most of the time? - -You don -(TM)t under... - Linda stopped herself. Lavi looked ready to explode on Linda and maybe Linda noticed it. -Just tell me. - Melissa took a breath. -One day you were out somewhere and I came home early. I saw him in his office looking up stuff on his computer. When he saw me, he shut the browser super quick and pulled out the thumb drive. I thought it was really sus but I just pretended I didn -(TM)t see anything. But it kept bugging me. - -What did you do? - Linda sounded like she was asking about a broken lamp she didn -(TM)t like, not her life falling apart. Melissa took a deep breath. I wanted to hug her but I knew it wasn -(TM)t the time. -Well, I borrowed something from a friend. You know Juline? - -Mary Gotch -(TM)s daughter? She was your lab parter for a few years, right? - -Right. Somehow she got her hands on one of those hidden nanny cams, like parents use to make sure babysitters are doing their jobs. Juline was joking about setting it up in the boy -(TM)s locker room. I convinced her I had another use for it. - Melissa went silent. Linda waited but eventually asked, -I -(TM)m guessing you saw something. - -He was going to this website, Creative Leisure. It had a section that pretended to be, like, a teen posting area. It wasn -(TM)t though. He was browsing that and then using his phone and ... I really don -(TM)t want to talk about what I saw him do. - Linda looked down. -Oh. - -So, I checked out the website. You could place ads for free but your contact info were hidden. Someone had to pay a membership to see them. But I could read the ads and it was girls looking for sugar daddies. It didn -(TM)t take a genius that there are sugar daddies and ... well, just paying for stuff. So, I wrote one asking for a sugar daddy who would want some online dates. I used a phone number from a virtual phone app with its own messaging. - Lavi, -And? - -I got a ton of messages which I just deleted. It didn -(TM)t take long for Rian -(TM)s phone number to show up though. I had figured it out from watching him type it in a few times. That cam had a really good resolution. Basically, he asked prices for pictures and sexting and phone sex and I said we could meet up and he said he didn -(TM)t do that. I did string him along a bit. I gave him a few photos, like panty shots I took in the bathroom at school. He asked how old I was and I said eighteen and he said it was okay if I was a little younger. I thought that was creepy but figured he was doing a roleplay thing. He still wouldn -(TM)t meet up so I ended up just not responding anymore. - Linda looked at Melissa again. Tears were in her eyes. -What was the point? - -I wanted to know if he was cheating on you mom. - -You didn -(TM)t say anything to me. - -I thought about it, I thought about it a lot. But even if he was buying stuff I figured phone calls and texting were bad, but it -(TM)s not like he was stepping out if he refused to meet up. I -(TM)m not saying I was comfortable with it but I don -(TM)t know what parameters you had in your relationship. - Linda -(TM)s voice turned scathing. -That -(TM)s a hell of a line to draw and no, I wouldn -(TM)t have been fine with him have phone sex! Would you be fine with Robert doing that and you not knowing it!? - -Yeah, I would. - Linda looked she had been slapped. She sat there in shock, I think at the casualness of the response as much as anything. Melissa continued, -But I -(TM)m not saying I thought you would be. I guess ... I guess not knowing gave me the wiggle room to avoid it. - -But you felt that if he had been going out to meet girls... - -Yeah. I knew that wasn -(TM)t something I could ignore. There was no way you would be fine with that. And really I knew you weren -(TM)t fine with the other stuff but was it my business? It definitely wasn -(TM)t if he was just looking at porn. Is buying phone sex just elaborate porn? - -Jesus Christ Melissa! What the hell are you talking about? - Melissa hung her head. -I -(TM)m telling you what I thought about. - Melissa withdrew her hand and pulled her knees up until she was hugging her own legs on the couch. Lavi rubbed her back. -Yeah. I didn -(TM)t actually send nudes though, I mean, I wouldn -(TM)t have done that though I told him I would. - Linda stood. -I think I need some time to think. - Linda headed towards the stairs. -Mom? - Linda paused. -It -(TM)s not your fault. You should have told me but you -(TM)re just a ... it isn -(TM)t your responsibility. - -I should have told you. - Linda didn -(TM)t look at her daughter but kept that same even tone. -It -(TM)s hard to remember that it was just two years ago and you were such a different person then. You seem so grown up now and I -(TM)ve started to see you as a woman but this ... I love you Melissa but I need to be alone a bit. - With that, she walked upstairs. At one AM I woke and had to pee. I left the bathroom to find three women laying in bed in bras and panties. Melissa -(TM)s athletic form in pale blue, Lavi -(TM)s curves in black, and Ji -(TM)s thin frame in red. I don -(TM)t want to seem insensitive to the drama that was going on but I would be lying if I hadn -(TM)t wished I was coming back to them awake and playing. Right now all three were asleep, having fallen asleep while watching the Great British Bake Off, which Ji was now addicted to. The television was showing a box that said -Are you still watching? - I didn -(TM)t want to look for my phone so I just walked to the television and felt for its power button to turn it off. When I had gone to sleep Ji and Melissa had been on either side of me and Lavi on the other side of Melissa. Ji had migrated at some point and now was half laying on top of Lavi, maybe to avoid falling off. My bed was nice and intimate with three. If we had Ji over regularly I was going to need an upgrade. I already had a king. I wondered if you could do something like strap two mattresses together. I just stood there a moment, my arm still in a sling, watching the girls sleep. Maybe it was because I was near the wall to turn the television off but I heard a faint. I went into the hallway and tracked the sound to the hallway bathroom. I should have knocked but the door was slightly cracked so I just pushed it all the way open. Linda had found some of the Japanese whiskey and was sitting on the toilet sobbing. The whiskey was considerably lower in the bottle than I remembered it being and was on the floor. She saw me so I felt stupid just leaving. She was in an emerald nightie and I had noticed before that she had kept her figure nice. It wasn -(TM)t a sexy nightie but there was still plenty of leg showing. -Hey, - I said. -How are you doing? - She waved me in. She had the toilet taken so I sat on the edge of the tub where I could lean a shoulder against the wall. -Robert, - her voice was unsteady, -would you fuck me? - -No. - I was not a strong man but I didn -(TM)t find it hard to say. She snarled, -Figures, only a pedophile wants to fuck me, and then only once a week. - She picked up the bottle and I felt it necessary to clarify. -No, Linda, no. - She paused. -I -(TM)m saying I wouldn -(TM)t because of Melissa. If I didn -(TM)t know her and you and I just met, well that would be different. You are very beautiful. - She pointed at me with the bottle still in her hand, -If I spread my legs, you know in the street, you -(TM)d fuck me? - Maybe it was unconscious but she spread her legs and I was grateful she had very concealing very boring panties on. -No Linda, a public street world get me arrested. - She slurred as she spoke. -You know what I mean! - -I think I do Linda and I don -(TM)t think our personalities would mesh but physically - yes, you are very fuckable. - She raised an arm to the sky, -There you go! Do men just need pussy, like they can -(TM)t not fuck around? - -Linda, if Lavi hadn -(TM)t been in the picture and Melissa wanted it to just be us I wouldn -(TM)t touch another woman. - -You -(TM)d look wouldn -(TM)t you? - -Yeah. I -(TM)m alive. - -But you -(TM)d be just ... my little girl and you? - -Absoltuely. - -God, I fucking hate you. You -(TM)re a bastard but I believe you. God fucking damn you, god damn fucking him, god fucking damn every dick swinging around this planet. - She waved her arm dramatically. -We -(TM)d be better off a planet of lesbians without your... - she seemed unbalanced -swinging dicks. - I thought about Melissa -(TM)s and Tommy -(TM)s sexuality. -Linda, are you maybe lesbian? - She rolled her eyes. -No. I like dicks I just don -(TM)t like the dicks attached to them ... That didn -(TM)t make sense did it? - She started to giggle. I reached over for the whiskey bottle. -I think you -(TM)ve had enough of that. - Suddenly a hand reached into my view and took the bottle away. It was Ji -(TM)s arm. I nodded thanks. She left for a moment and then came back. -You know ... you -(TM)re kind of a wimpy guy. - -I -(TM)m sorry. - -My first husband, he played football. Rian played lacrosse. And Rian knew what was right, we didn -(TM)t argue because we both understood what was right, right? - She started sobbing again, -But it wasn -(TM)t was it? He wanted to jerk off to little girl pussy. Fucking faggot. - Ji was back and looked at me. I think we were both thinking the same thing. -I think it -(TM)s time for bed, - I said. Linda frowned at me but stood and let me take one arm while Ji took the other. -My first husband put his foot down sometimes too. I didn -(TM)t like that but he got me wet. I had to make myself wet for Rian did you know that? - -I did not. - Nor had I wanted to. From Ji -(TM)s expression, I -(TM)m pretty sure she hadn -(TM)t wanted to know either. We were almost to the guest room. We got Linda for the bed and she lay down while muttering. -If he had touched her I would find him somehow and rip his eyes out with my fingernails. - Ji and I lowered her onto the guest bed and Linda suddenly grasped me. I fell with her onto the bed and suddenly she was an octopus grabbing me and holding herself against me as she fell asleep. I was very aware of her breasts pressed against me. I looked up to see Ji suppressing laughter. I was glad my shoulder was doing better because I -(TM)d hate to know how bad that had would have hurt if it hadn -(TM)t been. Damn. Slowly I extracted myself from Linda -(TM)s grip. Ji pulled a blanket over her and we left. -Thanks, - I said. -Light sleeper? - -Yeah. - -Sorry. - -Not your fault the warden has drama. - -Warden? - Ji grinned. -We had a few squad stayovers at Melissa -(TM)s. Linda would wander through without warning looking for us eating junk food to take away. Lavi started calling her the Warden and it stuck. - -Heh. - -Mind I get back in on your side? Lavi really does kick. - -Sure. - -You need a bigger bed, - she said. -I know. Putting two beds together seems silly though. - -Just get a custom one made. - -Custom? - -Yeah, my dad had one made for his boat. There are companies that do it. - -Huh. - With that, I got on the bed and Ji crawled between my legs so she wouldn -(TM)t be on the edge and laid her head down on my stomach. It did not take long to fall asleep. The next morning I woke up alone. I had a weird dream about making beef stew in the middle of a supermarket and adding bananas to it. I found a text from Ji that she had to go to school and one from Lavi saying she was going to give people space too. I heard a male voice as I approached the kitchen. -Burn it down? - Linda -(TM)s voice replied, -No dear I don -(TM)t know what I -(TM)ll do with the house but I emptied out the joint account this morning. - Tommy was sitting at the table, an arm around Melissa. Linda was at the stove. -Hello Robert, I hope you don -(TM)t mind. It -(TM)s been ages since I -(TM)ve been able to cook for the ki ... my children. - She smiled thinly. Melissa -(TM)s eyes looked red but she was composed. I walked over to her and gave her a hug. Tommy stood and shook my good hand. Soon I was eating eggs and sausages. The eggs were a little runny I thought and the sausage patties could have used some searing but - Linda Milton was cooking for me. I watched to make sure she was serving all of us from the same pot just to make sure mine wasn -(TM)t poisoned. We ate in silence, no one was jubilant but the shock of everything obviously was keeping some of the emotions at bay. Finally, I said, -Good to see you again Tommy, sorry it -(TM)s like this but still good to see you. - He finished up some eggs with a piece of toast. -Mellie texted me last night so I borrowed Steve -(TM)s car this morning and beelined it here. - Melissa looked at her brother, -Steve? - Linda, -So, Steve lent you his car. You know him well? - -Yes mom, he is my boyfriend and we -(TM)re not super serious or anything but there -(TM)s definitely something there. - -That is ... nice son. - She was clearly trying to mean it. -I -(TM)m going to have to head to work in a few, - I said. -Don -(TM)t push yourself, - Melissa said. -What can I do for you? - -Nothing. What can anyone do, this is all my fault. - Tommy thumped her arm. -Stop being stupid M. - Linda smiled at her daughter. -Your brother is right, Melissa. You ... never mind, the important thing is you didn -(TM)t set any of these things into motion. I thought about this all night and I can -(TM)t see a way in which this wouldn -(TM)t have hurt. Maybe it -(TM)s even for the best. We wouldn -(TM)t have known about the, well, the younger ones. - Melissa spun the fork in her hands. -What if I -(TM)d said something and there wouldn -(TM)t have been a thirteen-year-old? And it certainly led to the police coming here. - Tommy, -You can -(TM)t play the what-if game. Predatory types escalate. He may not have been doing this then, we just don -(TM)t know. If he and mom had split he may not have had anything to slow him down and he might have gotten ahold of more girls and maybe have done a lot more. - Melissa looked down. -Your brother is right, - Linda said. -I spent the night and a lot of some bottle of a clear liquid that I thought was rice wine - -It was a rice whiskey, - I said interrupting. Linda pretended I hadn -(TM)t said anything and continued, -And I -(TM)ve come to a few conclusions. At some point, we may need to talk more but I think I understand well enough that you were trying to do the right thing while not knowing what the right thing was. That does matter. - -I was scared too. - Linda nodded. -And policing Rian was not your job. I am angry and but I am reminding myself that Rian is the bad guy here. But right now I just need to think about moving forward. I think you need to call the squad together again and make sure that everyone knows what is going on and that Robert -(TM)s name is cleared. - I smiled at Linda. -Thank you Linda. - She gave me an even stare. -It -(TM)s not for you Robert, I just don -(TM)t want people to think my daughter is involved with a criminal. Bad enough I was married to one but I will deal with that. - -I think June is already doing some of that, - Melissa said. -Zahra sent me a message that her dad feels bad that he doubted Robert and they want to be there for us. - -I -(TM)m glad you have friends, dear. I assume they don -(TM)t know all the details. - She shook her head. -No, they know that the police came here and then went to get Rian but that -(TM)s all. I -(TM)m kind of hoping to leave it at that but they will talk anyway. - Linda nodded. -I also noticed that, uh, that Meilin -(TM)s daughter stayed over last night. - Melissa -(TM)s voice came out very quiet. -Yeah. - Tommy looked at his sister and I. -Damn girl! - He held his hand up for a high five. Melissa rolled her eyes at the humor and have him a feeble high five. -She -(TM)s really more Robert and Lavi -(TM)s girlfriend than mine, though we connect too. - Linda let that subject drop. -So, the dance squad should be back on track soon too. - -And one mystery is solved, - Tommy said. -What is that? - I asked. -Chris -(TM) plan to get back on the team. It was this. It had to be. The police wouldn -(TM)t drag their feet on something with minors and if he could discredit you he could cast himself as the good guy that was trying to help Melissa. - -Good guys don -(TM)t say the things he said, - Melissa commented. Tommy shrugged. -Once you have a bad guy that everyone can hate facts become flexible. - Melissa focused on her brother, -How would Chris have the messages? - -Chris always loved sneaking through the cheerleader -(TM)s phones. When I was on the squad he would make a point on bus trips of seeing if someone else could distract girls so he could get the phones and find selfies on them he could jerk off to. He would send them around. - -Ewww! But, I close my phone. - -You can -(TM)t swear you might not have set it down the bus just once without paying attention? - She slumped in defeat. It did sound likely. -And what, - I asked, -he just ignored it until now? - Tommy did the shrug again. -He probably just didn -(TM)t think much about it until now. - -T -(TM)wana is in on it too, - Melissa said. -Chris isn -(TM)t smart enough to come up with this plan on his own. He -(TM)d just, I don -(TM)t know, print it out and tape it up all over the school or something. - -True, - her brother said. I held up a finger. -There is still one thing I don -(TM)t understand. - Tommy, -One? - -The school, - I replied, -nothing directly involved the school, so why would the police talk to them? - -Well, on principle you should be protecting the students, - Linda added. -Still, I -(TM)d think this kind of investigation was pretty hush-hush because it is so important but they tell the principal who acts in a way that could have put me on the defensive? I -(TM)m not convinced they would anyway but at the point that Escobar was calling in parents. Surely even if they had talked to him they would have told him to keep a lid on it and not interfere with the operation. - Linda, -Escobar loves to be the big shot but you have a point, he probably would want to make a grand gesture but he wouldn -(TM)t do something the police told him not to. - -The answer is simple, - Melissa said. -The police didn -(TM)t tell him. - I shook my head. -From what you -(TM)ve said Chris isn -(TM)t the sharpest tool in the shed. - Melissa laughed. -From what I -(TM)ve said? You -(TM)re the one that tased him when he wound -(TM)t back off. - Tommy sat bolt upright. -You tased Chris Barrington? - I nodded my head. -Seriously? - I nodded again. -For real? - -Yes, I did. - He turned to Melissa again. -Oh my god, sis, how can you not have told me this? - -Uh, it got busy? - -Tell me you have video? Please, pretty please, with sugar fairies on top? - He had his hands in a prayer position. For the first time since the police showed up, I heard Melissa laugh and I was grateful to Tommy for it. -Yes, yes, I have it and Chris in fact peed himself, - she said. Tommy made pumping motions of victory with his arm. -There is a god! - Melisa turned to me. -Guess who was number one asshole when Tommy came out? - I chuckled. -I couldn -(TM)t guess. Anyway, my point is Escobar would take Chris -(TM)s word for things? I don -(TM)t know if he knows Chris that well but he -(TM)d ask the coach right? - -I -(TM)m with you, - Melissa said. -But Escobar would probably take T -(TM)wana -(TM)s word. She -(TM)s a grade-A bitch but she is also a plays-by-the-rules bitch and keeps her bitchery out of sight. - -Full circle, - Tommy said. I didn -(TM)t see what was a full circle but it seemed plausible at least. -So, what is the plan for today, - I asked? Melissa shrugged. -I can -(TM)t deal with school today. - -You -(TM)ve already been gone a lot, - Linda said. -They were excused. So, technically, I have plenty of unexcused absences left. - -And I -(TM)ll hang today, - Tommy said. -You go work, - Melissa reached over to hold my hand. -I know you have stuff that is active on that South American thing. - -Yeah, but if you need me... - -I will tell you what I told Lavi. I -(TM)ll still be a wreck and need you when you -(TM)re done. Just catch up with me then. I don -(TM)t need to make things harder on you dragging me down more. Besides, I have Tommy and mom here and we probably all need to talk more. - -Do we? - That was Linda. -I don -(TM)t have anything to talk about. Rian - he needs to talk to me. I found out he is county lockup but only because I called over and over. I did get a call from some floozy at a law office though saying they are representing him and all communication should go through them. - -Kill all the lawyers, - Tommy said. I cringed slightly, -To be fair, the guy who says that in Henry VI is kind of a psycho so I don -(TM)t think it is meant to be a good thing to agree with him. But I -(TM)m starting to understand why people identify with it so much. - -So, what are you going to do? - Tommy asked me. -I -(TM)m going to see if we can re-route some drilling and prevent some of whatever this country calls eminent domain. - I got up and left. I also realized as I reached my office that I had a call to make. It only took two rings. My lawyer, Clarence, didn -(TM)t have a secretary. -Hi Robert, how are you doing? - -It -(TM)s been a crazy weekend. - He laughed. It sounded fake. -Tell me about it. - -I think I will. But, remember how you said the school -(TM)s lawyer was really smug. - The plastic humor left his voice. -Yeah, so? - -Let me tell you a story. - -Should I turn on the recorder? - -I think so. -