Note to the reader: For those unfamiliar with the word 'tushy: 'tush' rhymes with 'push'.
Chapter 1
The door to the interrogation room opened and Detective Henderson walked in. He dropped a manila folder on the table and sat down, staring at the teenage boy who sat opposite him with arms crossed defiantly.
Scott Henderson's promotion to detective when he was 22, after only a few years on the force, had rankled the other patrol officers at the Third Precinct until they learned that his skillful questioning of witnesses at crime scenes had been crucial in some cases that might otherwise have gone unsolved and therefore the Division Chief had concluded that the young officer would be most useful in an investigative role. This morning, as so many revelers were waking to hangovers and regrets that they had celebrated the arrival of 2008 so immoderately, Scott was completing his first year as a detective.
Minutes passed. It became apparent to the teenager that this man was prepared to sit there staring at him indefinitely. The detective's unrelenting gaze became unbearable; the boy broke his silence. "Jason always tells us not to say nuthin without our lawyer."
"You have a lawyer?"
"He always gets one for us."
"Not this time. He used his one phone call to get a lawyer for himself. It won't do him much good, we have a solid case. He's going to prison; it's just a matter of how many years he'll be spending there. Anyway you don't need a lawyer, the District Attorney isn't interested in raking Jason's crew over the coals. Whoever agrees to testify at his trial won't be charged. Do you want the deal or should I have a lawyer appointed for you?"
The boy uncrossed his arms. "I'll testify. Jason would rat out any of us in a heartbeat."
"Smart decision. What's your name?"
"Kim."
"Not your street name, your real name."
"Alex."
Scott raised the folder and SLAMMED it back down on the table. "IF I HAVE TO PULL INFORMATION FROM YOU BIT BY BIT, THE DEAL WILL BE OFF! Now let's start again. What's your name? Your FULL name. And how old are you?"
For several moments, Alex sat stunned. Then he said: "Alexander Prentice. I'm nineteen."
"Why were you involved with Jason?"
"He paid me more than I could make anywhere else."
"And you needed the money for what? A drug habit?"
"No, I don't do drugs. It was for my mom. My old man split when I was twelve and she took three jobs to support me and my sisters. It was wearin' her down, she looked like hell. By the time I hit thirteen I couldn't stand to see her like that no more so I dropped outta school and went with Jason."
"Doing what?"
"I was a gofer: You know, go fer this, go fer that, hold his smack in case he got hassled by the cops, those kinda things. The money he paid me made it easier for my mom, she quit one of her jobs."
Scott consulted his folder. "You say you went to work for Jason at thirteen, yet none of you were seen in this area until a month ago. Where have you been for the past six years?"
"Fulton City."
Scott picked up the folder, rose from his chair and walked to the door. "When you decide to tell the truth, knock on that big mirror. I know just about every city and town in Colorado, there is no Fulton City."
"I AM tellin' the ... did you say Colorado?"
Scott stopped with his hand on the door. "Yes, where did you think you were?"
"Idaho! When Jason moved us I slept most of the way, I didn't know he took us to another state!"
Scott left the room. Half an hour later he came back and said: "Okay there
is
a Fulton City in Idaho, and their Police Department confirmed that Jason was operating there until last month."
"See, I told ya."
"Yes you did. What you
didn't
tell me is that you weren't just a gofer. I have your rap sheet, it was faxed to me along with the others. You have an arrest for soliciting. The police say a lawyer got you off on a technicality but the charge was legitimate. Was it?"
"That's covered by the deal, right?"
"The deal doesn't have to cover it. You can't be prosecuted in Colorado for something you did in Idaho. So were you turning tricks?"
"Yeah. Not at first, but a couple months ago I told Jason I needed more money so my mom could get down to one job. He said I'd make a bundle if he pimped me out, because I'm cute and there's men who would pay a lot for a quickie with me. He showed me where I would find the most Johns, and I worked that street almost every night until he moved us. He was right, I did rake it in. I even had money left over after I gave Jason his cut and gave enough to my mom for her to quit her second job. I guess I shoulda saved the extra money insteada pissin' it away on stuff I didn't even care about. I thought there would always be more. I was waitin' for him to finish scopin' out this burg so he could start me here. Hey what town
is
this?"
"Tilmont. We're three hundred miles from Fulton City. Why did Jason move you?"
"He said there was a cleanup campaign and it made Fulton City too hot for us. Three hundred miles, huh? Jeez."
Scott pushed a pen and a sheet of paper across the table. "Write down your mother's name and address." He made some notes in his folder and added the completed sheet when Alex slid it back to him. "That's all for now" he said, closing the folder. "I'm going to have a police officer take you to a hospital; I want you checked for STDs."
====
The officer kept Alex at the hospital after his examination, until a doctor came out and spoke to them. Addressing the officer, the doctor said: "You can tell your detective that the blood tests didn't indicate any sexually transmitted diseases." Then, turning to Alex: "That doesn't necessarily mean you're free of STDs, you might be in an incubation period. You should be tested at least twice more during the next six months. At present though, you're reasonably healthy except for being somewhat undernourished and slightly overweight. I suppose you've been living on junk food. Start eating better. And get more exercise."
The officer brought Alex back to the Third Precinct, where Scott told him: "I called your mother. She was relieved to hear that we're not pressing charges. She doesn't know about your sex work, does she?"
"No."
"She asked if you'll be coming home."
"Yeah, I will. Now that I'm nineteen maybe I can get a regular job that pays good money."
"You can use my phone to let her know. But you can't leave Tilmont yet, the grand jury is scheduled to hear the charges against Jason tomorrow and you'll have to be available in case there are questions. Then you can leave unless the prosecutor needs to keep you here for the trial. The up side is that as a material witness you get to stay in a hotel."
The only hotels Alex had ever been in were the rundown, 'hotsheet' places where customers would sometimes take him and book a room for an hour or two. Consequently he did not think of a hotel stay as an 'up side' - until he saw
this
hotel and his room – to him they seemed luxurious. "This place is boss! Thanks!"
"I'll pass your thanks on to the District Attorney" Scott replied. "Her office is footing the bill. That includes your food, and as your minder I'll be eating with you, which means I get to eat free as well."
No longer facing jail, Alex was cheerful and outgoing at dinner. He proved to be a very personable young man. Scott liked him.
Following the meal, Scott took Alex back to the hotel. "I'll pick you up at nine tomorrow morning."
=====
Precisely at 9 AM Alex opened his door to Scott, who immediately told him: "Jason took a plea deal. There'll be no grand jury hearing and no trial, so you can leave this morning. The cross-country bus that comes through at eleven o'clock stops in Fulton City. I'll take you to the bus station after breakfast."
While they were awaiting the arrival of Alex's bus, Alex said: "You used a different credit card at the restaurant today."
"You're very observant. It's my personal card. No trial, therefore you're not a material witness anymore so the District Attorney has stopped paying. Breakfast was a going-away present from me."
Alex smiled at him. "Thank you!"
Never had Scott seen a more captivating smile. It caused him to view Alex for the first time without the narrow focus of a detective scrutinizing a suspect.
It was easy to see why Alex had done well as a rent boy: his clear hazel eyes, wavy chestnut-brown hair, and fresh-looking young face, made him quite appealing.
As Alex climbed onto the bus, he turned and said: "Thanks ... for everything."
Chapter 2
Two days later, an officer came to the door of the squad room and called out: "Hey Scott, that kid you sent back to Idaho is in Reception. He's asking for you."
Scott went out to the reception area. "Alex, why are you here, Jason's case is closed."
"A bunch of reporters came to our house first thing this morning. They wanted to interview me. They showed my mom a newswire story about Jason and everybody who worked for him. It had all our names and everything about us. Did you tell them?"
"No! The only one I told the news media about was Jason! He's been arrested a number of times but until now he's always managed to weasel out of the charges. Word must have spread that this time he's not likely to skate, and it probably caused a reporter to go through the police files.
Alex had barely heard Scott's explanation, he was too agitated. "My mom said that when people find out what I did at night they'll treat the family like dirt. She said I had to leave. She said she's gonna take my sisters and move someplace where no one knows us. I asked all my friends' parents if I could stay with them while I look for a room; everybody said no."
"That's a lousy break, I'm sorry. But why did you come back to Tilmont?"
"I couldn't think of no place else to go."
"Alex, the job market in this city has been dead all year, you'd have no way to support yourself. I'll give you the names of some cities where you'll have better prospects."
"I wanna live in Tilmont."
"Why?"
Alex hesitated, but then he answered: "I wanna live near you. You're a good guy, you treat me like I'm not a piece-a-crap."
Scott had to admit to himself that he wouldn't at all mind having Alex nearby. "Alright. Tilmont has a Social Services agency, they should be able to do something for you." He glanced at a wall clock. "It's past their business hours, let's get you to a city shelter for the night."
=====
When they got to the shelter, what they found was a filthy, crowded facility where the men's sleeping quarters consisted of a single room filled with rows of closely-spaced mattresses. Weapons were carried by a few of the ominous-looking characters who roamed the narrow aisles, a fact they made little attempt to hide.
"I can't leave you here" Scott said. "Let's go."
