Page 6 of Galen's Redemption
He turned and pasted on the smile that made him popular in the bars…. Well, it did twenty years ago, when he had time to go out and party. Now at thirty-eight, he had too many responsibilities to even think about much beyond where the next mortgage payment would come from and whether he’dhave enough food to serve the increasing number of people.
“Officer Court, how are you?”
Officer Gary Court had been coming in to help out for ages. He was young, but he had mastered the art of tempering his approach to homeless people. He talkedtothem, not down at them. He earned their trust, just as he had Robert’s. With a lithe, muscular frame, cool blue eyes, and harshly cut blond hair,he was the very model of a cop.
Court frowned. “Bree again?”
“Can we talk in the office?” Robert regarded Brady. “Can you get everything started? I promise I’ll be there as soon as I can.”
Brady gave a sharp nod and headed off toward the kitchen.
Robert turned back to find Court with a dubious expression. “It’s not her fault.”
“You’ve said that in the past. At some point she has to be willingto take responsibility for what she’s done.”
“Look, let’s go into the office, grab a cup of coffee—because I don’t know about you, but I need it badly—and we can talk.”
A sigh rolled out of Court. “Robert, I know you do everything you can for these people, and no one appreciates more than me what you’ve accomplished here, but—”
This wasn’t the first time Court had dealt with the people whostayed at the shelter. Robert would be the first to admit, most of them weren’t angels. Too often they’d done things that left them feeling like they’d betrayed not only Robert, but themselves. Petty theft, drugs, prostitution—Robert had heard all the stories, and he did his best to play priest and absolve them of their sins.
“Please.” Robert didn’t like the way his voice cracked, but Bree wasone of his special kids. She’d lived a life that would break lesser people. Turned out at fourteen by her stepfather, who Robert was certain had molested her, she quickly got sucked in by a gang who got her hooked on drugs and forced her into prostitution to feed her habit. Even though she was only nineteen, the time she’d been on the streets had aged her beyond her years. She still looked youngenough to entice a man, but her soul was ancient.
“All right.” Court’s lip jutted out a bit. “But listen to me, okay? You can’t keep taking all this to heart. It’s going to end up hurting you in the long run.”
Like Robert didn’t know that. He’d been a straight-A student, taking honors courses and precollege AP courses, and he maintained a 4.875 GPA. He had been destined for the very best thingsin life. He had colleges clamoring for him to visit their facilities so they could wow him. He had the academic achievements, had the social ones sewn up, since he’d been volunteering at a homeless shelter from a few days after he’d turned twelve—which made him a celebrity at the time—and had them lining up at the door, hoping to get him to their college.
School wasn’t tough for him. And withthe full scholarship, he didn’t need a job, so he ended up volunteering his time at the shelter in Chicago too. The sad thing for him? When he was a kid, he hadn’t really noticed the circumstances people were forced to live under. It had been about helping, but also about being in magazines and newspapers, having a segment done on him with theGood Morning Americacrew. He’d been dazzled by thelimelight. But once those were turned off, he finally opened his eyes and saw the truth—how many had lost their homes because they couldn’t afford to pay medical bills, how many bought houses they couldn’t afford because of the housing bubble and then ended up losing it all. As the numbers of homeless swelled, the government did their best to make it a crime to be homeless.
Robert grew disillusionedby those people who were supposed to help, only to turn a blind eye to the suffering around them—or worse, to seek to profit from it. People he had looked up to, had wanted to emulate, only saw the poor as a way to make themselves look good. The same as Robert had done. It made him take a cold, hard look at himself, and it turned out, he didn’t like what he saw.
After he finished school, he partneredwith an organization that purported to help the homeless and, for the most part, they did.For the most partwas what troubled him, though. They still funneled money to other things, and their director had a sizable salary. Robert, the wide-eyed boy who thought he could become something, realized he would. He would become just like them, and the thought sickened him.
He put on his suit and begansoliciting donations. He hit up everyone who would give him ten minutes of their time. He explained his vision: helping people, with nearly all the money going to do that; making sure his books were in order so there were never any discrepancies, where people would see total transparency in everything he did. And they listened. Donations came in a trickle. Whether it was two dollars or two thousand,his thanks was always genuine. The best thing? Robert did exactly as he promised. He never hid anything. If there was something he would prefer people not see, he owned up and told them why it was the way it was. And once again, he was the golden boy. Companies were offering to sponsor him if—and there it was, always anif—only Robert would return the favor somehow.
He turned them down flat.He would be beholden to no one. No, he would not have his people turned into a sideshow for corporate bigwigs looking to puff up their chests and say “See what we’re doing?” The money would be nice, but it wasn’t worth the cost of their souls.
“Robert?”
“Hm?” Robert realized Court was still speaking. “I am so sorry. I didn’t get much sleep last night.” He rubbed his eyes, hoping to prove hispoint. “What were you saying?”
“Who gave her the drugs?”
Robert hesitated. “First, assure me you’re not going to arrest her.”
Court groaned. “You know I can’t promise you that.”
“I think we both know that’s not true.” And it wasn’t. Court had come to the shelter many times and had truly been their guardian angel when it came to things like this.
He sighed. “If she cooperates, I’ll do my best.”
That was good enough for Robert. “Michael Dugan gave her the pills.”
Court’s lip curled up into a sneer. “God, I thought we were done with him after the last time we put his ass in jail.”
The last time, as Court put it, was when Noel had confiscated drugs from a resident and they turned them over to Court, who’d arrested Dugan. Robert had forbidden him from being on or near the property. Apparentlythat didn’t help.
“Well, we’ll have a chat with him again.” Court gave a positively evil grin. “Maybe we can convince him it’s not in his interest to be around this place or the people who come here.” He lowered his voice. “They’ve suffered enough—why should they have to go through this shit with him?”
Robert had heard many stories about bad cops, and in the years since he started the shelter,he’d run into a few himself, but guys like Court made him feel that there were good apples too. And today, Robert was glad he had someone on his side.
