4

Caleb found some girls to talk to fairly quickly. He’d dealt with situations like this before and knew just where to look. He smiled, cordially, as he approached the group. Emma elected to stay in the car. Caleb resisted the urge to frown as he realized none of their cake-make-up faces were familiar. It was always harder to get information from girls who didn’t know him. One was wearing a red wig with matching lipstick and gold eye shadow. One had bleach-blonde hair, pink lips and blue eyelids. The third had decided to be a bit bolder with a black wig, lips and eye shadow.

“Good afternoon.” He didn’t flash his badge, yet, not wanting to scare them off too quickly. “I was wondering if I might have a moment of your time.”

“Fifty dollars,” the Goth one informed him, her voice cool.

He pulled back his jacket to reveal his shield and the girls gave each other a look that suggested they were considering taking off.

He continued to smile, anyway. “None of you is in trouble. I heard there’s an establishment stealing your customers and I was hoping to help.”

“We don’t snitch on other girls,” bleach-blonde commented and the others nodded.

“We don’t know nothing,” red added.

“Would you prefer I take you down to the station and let you talk there?” He didn’t usually jump to that threat so quickly, but he wasn’t in the mood to deal with these types of girls.

“Like she said, we don’t know nothing.” Bleach-blonde spoke and the three crossed their arms, defiantly.

“Greene, maybe you should wait in the car,” Emma commented from behind him.

He turned around, surprised. “I didn’t hear you get out.” She tilted her head towards the car and he shrugged, deciding to let her have a go. “Best of luck.”

He sat in the car and watched as Emma talked to the girls. He couldn’t hear the conversation, but they had soon uncrossed their arms and seemed to be listening to her. He watched her pull out a pad and make some notes before nodding her thanks to the girls and returning to the car.

He raised an eyebrow at her. “How did it go?”

She held up her notepad. “I got an address. Want to check it out?”

He smiled, a little impressed. “Now, what did you say to get them to give you that?”

She put a finger to her lips. “Girl stuff.” She winked. “So are we going or not?”

“Yeah, we’re going.” He started the car. “One day, I’m going to get you to tell me your secrets.”

She looked out the window as they headed out. “Not today.”

Camille felt groggy. Her whole body was stiff and she vaguely wondered if she had slept wrong. She smelled disinfectant and her first thought was that it must be cleaning day and Julia hadn’t woken her. She figured she needed to get up and opened her eyes, but what she saw wasn’t the familiar ceiling of her bedroom. There were fluorescent lights buzzing above her and she became aware of a stinging in her arm. She turned her head and saw a needle leading from her vein to a tube that connected her to a fresh bag of blood. It took several seconds to register what that meant and she remembered the car crash. She tried to sit up, but there was too much pain. She winced and clutched her stomach, swallowing as she felt it.

A nurse passed by the room and saw her. She smiled, kindly. “You’re awake. How do you feel?”

“What happened?” Her voice was hoarse and she cleared her throat, trying to fix it.

“Do you need some water?” the nurse asked, stepping closer and showing concern. “You should really lie back down.”

Camille helplessly collapsed back on the pillow. “My baby…”

“I’ll get a doctor,” the nurse replied, disappearing out the door. She came back a few minutes later with a man in a white coat who was, presumably, the doctor.

He looked at her, his face carefully sympathetic. “You were in a car accident. Do you remember?”

Camille nodded and looked at him, pitiably. “My baby?”

“There was extensive damage. You’re very lucky to be alive,” he informed her, delaying the inevitable. “However, we were, unfortunately, unable to save your child and your uterus was too badly damaged to be repaired.” He paused for a moment, letting it sink in. “Do you understand what that means?”

She nodded and blinked back tears, feeling like her whole body was frozen. “And Julia?”

“You’re foster mother is fine,” the doctor assured her, giving Camille a little comfort. “You will be able to see her when you get your strength back up.”

Camille stayed silent and the doctor took it as his cue to leave. The nurse looked at the girl, sadly. “I’ll get you some water.” She left, quickly.

Camille let out a soft sob. “My baby…”

It was a few hours before she was able to get a nurse to push her in a wheelchair to Julia’s room. Her foster mother lay in bed with her eyes closed. There were some minor cuts on her face and arms.

Camille spoke quietly. “Julia?”

She opened her eyes and smiled, weakly. “Hey. Look at you, getting carriage service. I’m jealous.”

Camille swallowed. “You’re hurt.”

Julia shook her head. “It’s not as bad as it looks.”

The nurse wheeled Camille to the bedside. “I’ll give you two sometime to talk,” she told them before making her exit.

Julia looked at Camille, her face etched with worry. “Your baby?”

Camille looked away and shook her head, tears streaming down her cheeks.

“Oh, sweetheart.” Julia’s eyes also filled with tears. “I’m so sorry.”

Camille began to sob and wiped her eyes, roughly. “It’s not fair! It wasn’t supposed to be like this!”

Julia sighed as she looked at her. “There isn’t any “supposed to be”. There’s just how things are.”

“I don’t need any of your stupid advice!” Camille screamed at her.

Ever patient, Julia just sighed as she looked at the teenager. “It’s going to be okay. We’ll get through this.”

Camille shook her head. “I can’t.”

“It’s just you and me, now, kid. We have to stick together.” She managed another weak smile.

Camille looked at her in confusion. “It’s not just us. You still have Bethany and Kevin to take care of.” She had managed to calm down enough to point that out.

Julia swallowed and shook her head, slowly. “Camille…there was damage to my spine.” She took a breath and the younger girl felt her heart stop. “I’m not going to be able to walk, let alone care for foster children.”

The news hit Camille like a ton of bricks and she felt like she was going to vomit. “No. You can get better. There’s physical therapy, right? And surgery. There must be something.”

Julia just smiled in her ever-loving way. “It will be okay. I still have you.” She reached out her hand and Camille, hesitantly, took it, realizing that both their worlds had collapsed in one night.

Caleb rapped on the door, softly. They had found out that the building belonged to a man named Bill Young, but a young woman answered. She didn’t look to be more than twenty. She was brunette and wore a plain, white dress that didn’t contain enough fabric for a modest shirt. Her eyelids were dark with shadow and mascara. She looked them up and down. “What can I do for you?”

Caleb pulled his coat back to reveal his shield. “I was wondering if we might have a look around.”

Her gaze fell on the badge and her face went pale. “I didn’t do anything.”

He smiled, kindly. “I’m sure you didn’t. May we speak to the owner of the house?”

“He’s upstairs.” She looked back over her shoulder at the steps. “I think he’s sleeping…”

“Would you mind checking for us?” Greene asked. “I promise it won’t take long.”

“I’m not sure if I should.” She bit her excessively red lip, ruining the lipstick and her teeth in one move.

Roxbury stepped forward and smiled at her. “I’m sorry for his rudeness. I’m Emma. What’s your name?”

“Jenny.” She looked at the female detective, now, clearly more comfortable with her.

“It’s nice to meet you, Jenny.” Emma continued to smile. “And I promise you are not in trouble. We just need to speak to the owner, then we’ll go. You don’t have anything to worry about.”

Jenny mulled it over, then nodded, slowly. “Give me a minute.”

“Take your time. We’ll wait here.” Emma looked at Caleb and he nodded.

Feeling a little less frightened, Jenny ascended the stairs. A minute later, the detectives heard a scream.

For a few days, Tyler spent every minute by Camille’s side, but they rarely spoke. She hardly spoke to anyone. His visits became less frequent, until one day, he couldn’t bear it anymore.

“I’m going to college,” he told her.

She was sitting in the living room, staring out the window. At his news, she tried to bring up some emotional response, but all she managed was, “Are you?”

He swallowed. It pained him to see the once vibrant girl in a state like this and he felt partially responsible. “I thought it would be best. I was going to defer, but after…what happened, I decided to go. It was a hard decision, but I’m leaving in a week and I wanted to make sure you would be okay with it.”

“I’m fine,” she replied, distantly, never looking at him. “You should do what’s best for you. There’s nothing keeping you here.”

He winced a little and walked over to her. He knelt beside the chair and took her hand. “Tell me what I can do for you and I will do it. I can’t bear to see you like this.”

“Then stop coming over,” she told him, still not moving.

He sighed. “Camille…” He stood up, realizing it was a losing battle. “Okay. I’m sorry for everything. I won’t trouble you anymore.” He kissed her head and spoke softly. “I want you to know, you were my first love and I truly believed you might be my last.” He took a step back to look at her cold face. “Goodbye, Camille.”

As he walked out the door, she knew she would never see him again and he never saw the tear slip down her cheek as she watched his car pull away.

Within seconds of hearing the scream, Emma and Caleb’s guns were drawn and they were racing upstairs. A man, presumably Bill, was holding a gun to Jenny’s head.

“N.Y.P.D!” Caleb yelled. “Drop your weapon!”

“Drop your weapon!” Bill yelled back, defiantly. “I’m just running my business and I don’t need cops poking around in it!”

“Jenny, are you okay?” Emma never shifted her gaze from the pimp.

“I don’t want to die,” Jenny whimpered, mascara running down her cheeks. “Please, I don’t want to die.”

“Shut up!” Bill ordered. “Nobody cares what you want, you dumb whore.” He looked back at the detectives. “Drop your weapons or I’ll kill this slut right now!”

“It’s okay, Jenny. You’re not going to die.” Emma’s voice was even. “Bill, you haven’t committed murder, yet. It's not too late to walk away. We can make a deal.”

“If you kill her, you lose your only leverage,” Caleb told him.

Bill looked uncertain as his gaze flicked between the two cops. He shoved Jenny towards Caleb and raised his weapon. Emma saw what he was going to do a split second before he pulled the trigger and she pulled hers first. He cried out as a bullet buried itself in his shoulder, making him drop the gun. Emma didn’t waste a second. She rushed to him and kicked the gun away, easily pinning the injured man down and slapping cuffs on him. “Bill young, you are under arrest.”

As she read him his rights, Caleb looked at Jenny. “Are you hurt?”

She shook her head. “He was going to kill me…”

“You’re safe, now,” he promised, putting an arm around her. “You’re safe.”

A blonde girl poked her head out of the nearest room and looked at the scene, then the cops. “Is it over?”

Emma forced Bill to stand up and she nodded to the girl. “Testify and you shouldn’t do too much time.”

The girl frowned, but didn’t respond. She didn’t need to. Based on Bill’s behavior, there was little chance that the girls would feel any loyalty to him and they had to look out for themselves.

Julia got the hang of her wheelchair in no time. She worked hard to recover as quickly as possible, wanting to be strong enough to care for Camille, but she had no idea what she was doing. When she found out that Tyler had gone, she knew there was nothing left for the girl in their town. Meanwhile, she hadn’t been able to work her part-time waitressing job and she couldn’t foster, so her savings were draining fast.

Finally, she knew she would have to talk to her last foster child. “We can’t stay here much longer.”

Camille looked at her, surprised. “What do you mean?”

“There’s no money.” Julia rolled into a position facing the girl. “And no work for a woman in a wheelchair.” She sighed. “I’ve decided to move in with my mother. I’ve told you about her, haven’t I?”

Camille nodded. “She owns a restaurant in a city, right?”

“That’s right.” Julia smiled and squeezed her hand. “I already called her and we are making arrangements. She said you could come, too. Space would be tight, but I won’t leave you behind.”

Camille stared at her for several moments, then shook her head. “I can’t, Julia.”

She swallowed. She was tempted. Her foster mother was all she had left. She was terrified of living without her, but, as she looked at Julia’s wheelchair, she knew she couldn’t continue to live with her. It was her fault that Julia was in that state and she was reminded of it every day. To each other, she felt they were painful reminders of the night their lives fell apart.

Julia stared at her for a moment, then nodded. Her own guilt was equal to Camille’s. She had kept driving when she should have pulled over and that mistake has cost the girl everything. She couldn’t force Camille to stay with her. “What will you do, then?”

The younger woman shrugged. “I don’t know.” She looked out the window. “But I can’t stay here. It hurts too much.”

“I understand.” Julia pulled an envelope out of a pocket on the side of her chair and held it out to Camille. “There’s a little money in there. Not much, but enough for a bus ticket.”

Camille stared at her. “I can’t take that.”

Julia smiled and forced it into her lap. “You can. I’ll be alright. You need to go somewhere you can start over.”

Camille swallowed and looked at the envelope, speaking softly. “Thank you.”

Emma and Caleb received several pats on the back as they booked their perp. It had been open and shut, but the gun fight made it worth celebrating. Nobody liked being in a gun fight, but surviving one was great.

“I heard the guy shot at you,” Donovan remarked, coming over to them. “Are you okay?”

“He almost shot at us,” Caleb corrected. He put an arm around Emma’s shoulders. “Roxbury, here, saved me. Remind me never to get in a gun fight with her.” He winked, playfully.

The nearby officers chuckled and she pushed his arm off.

“Well, I’m glad you’re both okay,” Gregson told them. “And I’ll expect your reports on my desk in the morning.”

“Yes, sir,” the partners replied, in unison.

Gregson looked around the group. “I would suggest everybody get back to work. Crime doesn’t stop because some idiot pulled a gun.”

The officers quickly returned to their desks and worked furiously, not wanting to get reprimanded.

Once Caleb had finished his report, he walked over to Emma. “You about done?”

“Just about.” She closed the report and stood, heading for Gregson’s office. “I trust I don’t have anything to worry about from your report.”

He chuckled. “It was a clean shoot. Nobody can blame you, but there is always a risk of you being forced to get therapy.”

Emma rolled her eyes. “Great.” They turned in their reports and headed out together.

As they exited the building, Caleb turned to Emma. “I want to thank you. I could have been killed today.”

Roxbury shrugged. “That’s what partners are for, right? No need to thank me for doing my job.”

“Even so, let me buy you a drink. It’s the least I can do.”

“I don’t drink,” she told him.

“Not even a beer with friends after a long day?”

“Are we friends, now?” She held up her hands. “Slow down, this relationship is moving too fast for me.”

He chuckled. “Come on, one drink. I won’t feel right otherwise.”

She smiled, but shook her head. “I need to get home. Maybe another time.”

“What’s so important at home that you can’t spare time for a drink with your partner?”

“My daughter,” she replied, simply, smiling at his surprised look. “Good night, detective Greene.” She took off before he could respond.

Caleb watched her walk away and shook his head. He always prided himself on being able to read people, but he just couldn’t seem to get a handle on this one. Oh, well. He shrugged to himself. He disliked drinking alone, so he headed back to his own empty apartment.