Page 36 of Dirty Cops Next Door

When the darkness disappeared I twisted, throwing him off-balance with my sudden movement. I scrambled away, my own hand at my throat, grabbing at the first thing my hand came into contact with. A clothes basket.

I wasn’t sure what I could do with it other than keep the young man from getting near me, but it was all I had. I was inside and I wasn’t going to leave my brother in here alone with this pair of wackos.

“Toni! Oh my God! I’m so sorry, I didn’t know it was you! You have to help me! He has Eric up there!”

“What? Why were you trying to kill me if you’re so afraid for Eric? And why the hell is Eric even here? I left him sleeping at home!” I backed away, but his headlamp was blinding me. I had no idea where to go!

“I didn’t know it was you, did I? I thought you might be my Dad, sneaking around the house. He does that shit all the time.” Mark seemed to deflate then and he moved around in the darkness, muscle memory leading him to a chair. “He’s always been a paranoid son of a bitch, and he’d do shit like that all the time. ‘Testing the perimeters’ he’d call it. I was trying to keep him from getting back to Eric if he’d left him up there alone.”

I watched him warily, keeping an eye on his movements. I’d never trusted the kid, even if Eric had. I couldn’t help it; I’d seen too many crime shows and horror movies to think I was safe now.

“Okay. Fine. How did Eric get here?” I stared him down, my anger starting to get the better of me.

“I called him and asked him if he’d come over. Dad was acting all nuts and I was just…” He stopped to snivel a little before continuing, “I was afraid to be by myself with him, Toni. I called Eric and then I went and got him. Dad took him the minute we got in the door. I’m so sorry. I had no idea this was going to happen. Any of it.” His eyes were pleading with me to believe him.

“What are we going to do?” he asked me, but I couldn’t see his face in that glaring light.

“First, move that light to somewhere that isn’t blinding me!” I couldn’t help the sigh of relief when he did just that with a muttered apology. “Now, if you’re serious, what do you think we should do? You know your dad better than I do. How do we talk him down from this?”

“I don’t think we can. I think we’ll have to kill him if we want to save Eric.” Without the light blinding me, I could see Mark’s very serious face. He wasn’t kidding. He really thought we’d have to kill his dad. What shocked me the most was that he was willing to do it for Eric.

The boys had really formed a bond.

“Thank you, Mark. I think. I don’t plan on killing anybody today, least of all your father.” I wanted to hug him or ruffle his hair, things you do with little boys. Mark wasn’t a little boy though, and even though his sudden vulnerability brought out the mothering instinct in me, I knew doing that would somehow be wrong with this child.

I was starting to get the picture of Mark as more than just a rich kid gone wrong. I wondered, belatedly, what had happened to his mom.

“Mark, your mother? Where is she?” I asked him, hesitant but curious.

“In prison. Dad talked her into trying to bring a bunch of heroin in through Mexico. They caught her and she’s been down there for about ten years now. He’s never even tried to get her released!” Oh no, bad idea, he was even angrier now. “He’s never been good to either of us. Now this? I’ll never forgive him if anything happens to Eric. He’s the only one that’s ever really been nice to me.”

“How so?” I was just trying to calm the kid down now.

“Everybody in town knows who my dad is, what he does. They either talk to me in the hopes of getting drugs for free or they think I’m rich and just want to get something out of me. Or they want information on my dad to send him to prison.”

I was starting to see this kid with the jaw far too hard for his age, with eyes that were far too mature whilst being vulnerable at the same time, for what Eric saw in him.

“So, Eric comes along, has no idea who you are, and offers you friendship for friendship’s sake.”

“Yeah! And it was just so... righteous, ya know? I fucked up when I showed off that first day, and I’m really sorry about that, Toni, I really am. You don’t know how bad I felt about that!” I could see the pain in his eyes and knew he was telling the truth.

I was thawing toward the kid, I couldn’t believe it but I was.

“Eric’s special like that. Shall we find a way to save him?” I offered, wanting to get moving now. I had no idea what I was going to do so I hoped inspiration would hit soon.

“I might know a way. Follow me.” Mark stood up, straightened himself out, cracked his neck and his knuckles, and started up the steps.

I had no idea where we were going so I followed the kid, a kid who was taller than me, but still just a kid. We made our way to the second floor before he slowed, and started to creep along, his back pressed to the wall. I mimicked him until we stopped at the first door.

“Dad?” he called out before he waited, obviously listening. Wall sconces gave us just enough light to see by without being too bright.

“Son? Where are you?” A voice called out from down the hallway. “I told you to stay out of the way.”

“Yeah, I know. I wanted to know what we were going to eat.” Mark crept down the hall, his feet quiet on the carpet.

“Eat some cereal, you whiny little shit. What the fuck am I, your nursemaid? Cook something if you’re hungry!” Avery’s response made my blood boil. Who talked to their kid like that?

“I was going to. What do you want?” Mark came to the doorway and gave me a look that asked if I was ready.