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"I will take it with me. I promise."
Then I saw that the tab on the folder read Steven Wilkins. "Oh! Is this about John’s brother?" Instantly I remembered how Ricky Thomas and Licorice Billy had laughed at me when I mentioned John Collins. "Does this mean that John and Steven have different last names?"
"I don’t know about that. I thought you told me you knew John’s last name."
"Well, I thought I did, but now I'm not so sure. I thought it was Collins, but maybe they were actually half-brothers and had two different fathers."
"Or one of them may have changed his last name at some point," said Daniel.
I opened the folder. It contained the arrest report on Steven. It stated that he'd been suspected of dealing cocaine, and when an undercover cop offered to buy from him he'd tried to hide a pretty big stash – plenty big enough to get nailed for distributing – and he remained in Maxfield Prison.
I jumped up and kissed Daniel. "Does that kiss mean you're going to Maxfield Prison?" he asked.
"That kiss means that I love you. The information in the folder means I want to see Steven Wilkins as soon as possible."
Then I turned to him. "But that will have to wait. Right now, I want to spend this evening with you. I need you in my life, Daniel."
He gave me a bear hug and held me close. Things were right between us again.
Chapter Seventeen
When I arrived at Maxfield Correctional Facility, I didn’t know what to expect. I signed in and soon found myself facing Steven Wilkins, who sat behind the thick glass staring at me.
There was no doubt he was John’s brother. The resemblance couldn’t be missed. He picked up his telephone receiver and I picked up mine.
"I saw you at John’s funeral," he said. "I take it you were a friend of his?"
I told him how I came to know his brother. "He was quite a storyteller. And once, he talked to me about you. I know he was worried about you."
Steven glanced down, and then met my eyes again. "Yeah, I know he worried about me. It was because of John that I finally got off drugs. Once I made it through the withdrawal, I felt better. I actually started making plans for some kind of future."
"Okay," I said. "But if that’s the case – how did you end up in here?"
"I know I sound like a liar – or like someone who will say anything to get out of this place – but I swear, the drugs they found weren’t mine." Steven shook his head. "I lived in a small apartment at the edge of downtown. Someone must have planted the cocaine there. I definitely was not using, or selling, at that time."
I thought about his words before I responded. I trusted what John had told me about his brother. ""Do you have enemies? I mean, is there somebody who could have planted it there without you knowing it?"
The look on his face was one of confusion, as if he continued to search for the answer to that. "I got no enemies – at least not that I know of. I lived on the streets like John did, for a long time."
But the next thing he said really threw me off. "John talked me into helping him in get people off drugs. He wanted to clean up the drug dealers and teach the homeless people downtown how to have better lives.
"I walked around with him all day long, talking to people. I used myself as an example of how it could be done. I even had a part-time job at the shelter, fixing things and cleaning up after everybody got kicked out in the morning.
"I didn’t get a lot of money for it, but they let me eat there. The one in charge, William, found a cheap apartment for me and after a few months of working at the shelter I had enough to pay the rent. It was pretty shabby, but at least I was off the streets. And John was proud of me."
His voice trembled just a little, and he took a deep breath. "I miss him more than anyone. He was the only family who cared about me."
I tried to smile. "He was a good guy. And I'm sorry he's gone, too." Then I got to the real reason why I was here. "Do you know of a guy named Calvin Carpenter? The city councilman?"
Steven looked up. "Yeah. Well, I've heard of him. John hated him, because he was sure this guy would stop at nothing to get rid of all the homeless in West River."
"What about Licorice Billy? Do you know him?"
"Yeah. I know him. He used to argue with John a lot over my brother’s favorite spot at night. You already know he liked staying in front of that coffee house you work at.
"But Billy liked to argue about everything. Everything was about him and what he wanted." Steven looked closely at me. "I tried to get John to move in with me once I had that apartment, but he wouldn't. He said he was fine where he was and didn't need to take up my space." He shook his head. "But I guess he would have been on the streets again anyway, once I was in here."
I frowned. "If John wanted the homeless to have better lives, it seems like he would have set the example by moving in with you when he had the chance."
