Page 7 of Just for Him
“Joel has been suspended until further notice,” Principal Carter said, “pending the outcome of the investigation.”
Suspended. The word echoed in my head. More hours my brother would be left alone, unsupervised. At least when he was at school, he had some structure. Somewhere to be and a whole staff keeping him on track. In the evenings, between my first and third shift jobs, I made sure he ate something relatively healthy and hit the books while I grabbed a couple hours of shuteye. Then again, it seemed like my days would be free, too, for the immediate future, at least until I found another job.
“What about his schoolwork? His exams?”
“Joel will be allowed to keep up with his classwork through our online system. He may use the school-issued laptop to receive and submit assignments and to take his exams during the course of the investigation.”
“And how long will that take?”
“That depends on how willing Joel is to cooperate.”
He rolled his eyes. “I told you, I don’t know anything.”
I let out a controlled breath. “All right. What happens now?”
“We are remanding him into your custody.”
“Does that mean we can go?”
The other detective, the one who had yet to say a word, continued to stare at me. It was unnerving.
His partner spoke once again. “Yes, but you are expected to remain in the area.”
I nodded. Where would we go?
“You can wait here while we complete the paperwork.”
I nodded again.
The detectives and the principal filed out, leaving my brother and I alone in the small room. Having watched as many cop shows as I had, I knew the room was most likely equipped with security cameras and two-way glass.
“We are going to talk about this when we get home,” I said quietly. I had heard one side of the story. Now I wanted to hear Joel’s. Therealstory. But not here, where anything he said could and would be used against him in a court of law.
Hours later, or what seemed like hours later, I was finally given a bunch of papers to sign and we were told we could leave. Some take-out and a whole lot of talking was on the agenda until I had to be back at Lindelman’s for the graveyard shift.
“Haven?”
The deep, familiar voice was both welcomed and not. Welcomed, because just hearing it made me feel better. Not, because he was the fuzz and my brother had just been collared. I couldn’t be rude, though.
“Hey, Vinnie.”
“Everything okay?” His eyes flicked from me to my brother.
Despite the fact that we had different mothers, Joel and I shared similar features. We would probably look more alike as time went on, but the ten years separating us in age was pretty apparent. He was a baby-faced seventeen-year-old, and worry lines made me look older than my twenty-seven years.
“It will be.”
Maybe if I said it often enough, I might start to believe it. The power of positive thinking and all that.
Before he could ask any more questions, I looped my arm through Joel’s and summoned a smile. “Let’s be careful out there.” I couldn’t help it. When I got nervous, I started parroting catchphrases from police dramas.
Officer Vinnie smiled, no doubt recognizing the reference. His smile, like his voice, did wonderful things for my anxiety, but we couldn’t dawdle.
“Who was that?” Joel scowled, looking over his shoulder as we left the station.
“Nobody you need to worry about. Now come on. We’re picking up a pizza, and then you are going to tell me what the hell is going on.”
