King Geordi the Great Read online

  Five minutes later we rolled into the lot of a Shell station. Jake pulled into a parking slot in front of the convenience store and shut off the engine. “Okay, now what?” he asked.

  “Now that we have a signal, Geordi, Toff, and I are gonna get out here,” Jess answered. “And you, mi amigo, had better hightail it home.”

  “I don’t want to just leave you guys here,” Jake protested.

  “I’m about to make a call to the police,” Jess said. “You don’t want them tagging you for driving without a license, so just go on home. I’m calling my mom after I call the police. We’ll be okay.”

  Jake looked back at Toff and me, uncertainty and reluctance in his eyes. “We’ll see you later, man,” I said, and opened the door. I paused with one foot on the asphalt when Toff said, “Jake?”

  “Yeah, man?”

  “Take this with you,” Toff said, patting the top of the portable file. “I don’t want the cops to take it. Hide it in your room or something, and I’ll get it from you later.”

  “You got it.”

  Jess, Toff, and I climbed out. We sent Jake off with our thanks and our goodbyes, and I watched as the car grew smaller and smaller until it disappeared over a hill down the highway.

  Jess blew out a breath. “Okay. Let’s get this over with.” She lifted her phone and dialed 911, and I felt more dread than I had when we were deep in the forest. She put her phone on speaker.

  “Nine one one, what is your emergency?”

  “My name is Jessica Sanchez, and I want to report that my friend’s father is missing, and that a man with a gun just got into a fight with me and my friends.”

  “Where’s the man with the gun?”

  “He ran off into the woods.”

  “Are you and your friends safe?”

  “Yes. We just need to get the police out here.”

  “Where are you?”

  “We’re at the Shell station off the westbound side of Highway 64, about four and a half miles east of Selmer.”

  “How old are you, Jessica?”

  “I’m fourteen.”

  “Is there an adult with you?”

  “No. I’m calling my mom as soon as I finish talking to you.”

  “All right. Stay there. The sheriff is on the way.”

  Jess disconnected the call. She looked nervously at Toff and me. “Now comes the really fun part.” She thumbed a number on her phone. Her call was answered quickly. “Hi, Mom,” she said, lowering her eyes contritely. “No, I’m okay. I’m with Toff and Geordi….”

  Jess shifted into Spanish. I nudged Toff with my shoulder and nodded toward the convenience store. He followed me over to the front of the store where we sat down on the ground with our backs to the wall. I started to ask if he was okay, but that would have been stupid. He was far from okay. His body was trembling. You could see right off how upset he was. The only thing I could do was be there for him. I put my arm around his shoulders while Jess went on talking with her mom.

  After a few minutes, Jessica’s voice got loud, drawing a concerned look from Toff. She rolled her eyes hard, murmured something that sounded like an apology, and lowered her voice. When she disconnected the call moments later, she let her head fall back and groaned. Toff and I started to get up and go to her, but she waved and we settled back against the wall. She walked over and sat down next to Toff.

  “So what did your mom say?” Toff asked.

  “She and Javier are on their way. I told her that, by the time they get here, we’ll most likely be at the north entrance of the forest preserve with the sheriff. She said the sheriff will just have to arrest her because she’s going to pin me up by my ears to the nearest tree. Oh, and Geordi, she told me to tell you to be sure to have your phone turned on. Your mom and dad have called her a couple of times trying to track you down. She said they were pretty upset, and she’s giving them a call to let them know where you are.”

  “Cripes, Jess,” I snapped. “Did you just have to tell your mom I’m out here with you?”

  She shrugged casually at me. “Why should I be the only one pinned up to a tree by a parent?”

  Bells jingled. I turned to see the clerk pushing open the door of the convenience store. A twenty-something woman in blue jeans and a white smock, she leaned out the doorway, looking curiously at us. “Is everything all right with you guys?” she asked.

  “We’re dead,” I replied flatly.

  Which got me a swat in the back of the head from Jess. “Ow!”

  Jess beamed at the clerk. “Everything’s just fine.”

  SHERIFF ELAINE Villanova was a small middle-aged African American woman with auburn hair worn in a pixie cut, all of five feet three inches tall (I’m being generous there). She had big dark Bambi eyes and cheeks that dimpled when she smiled. Which she did only once, when she arrived at the Shell station with three deputies in tow and introduced herself to us. Her deputies, all men, were taller and stronger and meaner-looking, but there was never any doubt as to who was in charge. In her gray uniform and black boots, with her badge on her chest and her gun on her hip, the sheriff was pretty damn intimidating.

  We were at the north entrance of the forest preserve again, the three deputies were off in the woods looking for Blondie and Mr. Toffler, and Sheriff Villanova was glaring up at Jessica in a way that made me so nervous my throat went dry. “You want to run that by me again?” the sheriff huffed.

  “Sure,” Jess replied innocently. “We hitched our way out here.”

  “The three of you hitched a two-hundred-mile ride from Memphis?”

  “Yes, ma’am.”

  “Who’d you hitch the ride with?”

  “She said her name is Sam.”

  “A woman named Sam.”

  “Yeah. It must be short for Samsara or Samuelita or something. She didn’t give her last name.”

  “Of course not. And you don’t have her phone number either.”

  “No, we didn’t get that.”

  “Uh-huh.” The sheriff hitched up her pants on one side. “So this generous no-last-name woman, whose phone number you don’t have, drove you three all the way out here to look for this boy’s father.” She pointed at Toff. “How did you get from here to the Shell station?”

  “Sam waited right here for us, and then she drove us to the gas station.”

  “This woman Sam with no last name and no phone number, sat out in the middle of nowhere for an hour or more, while you three kids went off in the woods and got yourselves attacked by a guy with a gun, and then she drove you to a gas station, dropped you off, and disappeared into the night, never to be seen nor heard from again.”

  “Yeah, that’s it. You’re exactly right.”

  Sheriff Villanova folded her arms across her chest. “Jessica Sanchez, do you realize it is a crime to lie to an officer of the law?”

  Jess nodded solemnly. “Of course. And I would never, ever lie to a cop.”

  The sheriff looked at me. I smiled at her. It was one of those I’m-guilty-as-heck-but please-don’t-lock-me-up smiles. The sheriff sniffed in a disgusted sort of way and turned to Toff. “Sandor, when was the last time you spoke to your dad?”

  “That was Sunday,” said Toff. “He told me he was going off to fish at Shelby Farms. After that he never answered any of my calls or texts.”

  “He never said anything about coming here?”

  “No.”

  “And you have no idea why he would come to this forest preserve?”

  “No.”

  The sheriff didn’t look as if she believed Toff any more than she believed Jessica. She also was starting to look pissed, probably because of her suspicion that she was being lied to. I felt a little relieved when the glare of headlights flashed over us, followed by the hum of multiple car engines. Two vehicles rumbled their way toward us along Route 28Z. Although the darkness obscured details of the approaching cars, I was pretty sure who was coming, and my relief only lasted a couple of seconds.

  The cars st
opped behind the three patrol cars bearing the logo of the McNairy County Sheriff’s Department. The doors on the lead car opened, and Mrs. Sanchez and Javier climbed out. My mom and dad came rushing out of the second car. The four of them hurried over to where Toff, Jess, and I stood with the sheriff. Javier, around six foot four and pole-like with a mass of black curls on his head, was usually one big pile of snark. He teased Jess, Toff, me, and her other friends whenever he was around, which thankfully wasn’t often. Like Carson, he was usually a Class A asshole. Tonight, he looked as if he’d shrunk an inch or two, subdued perhaps by the sheer craziness that had brought us all out here. He moved in close to Jess, hovering protectively over her.

  Mrs. Sanchez shot a quick and very angry look at Jess as she extended her hand to the sheriff. “Hello. I’m Mara Sanchez, Jessica’s mother. This is my son, Javier.”

  “And we’re the Quintrells, Ben and Diana,” Dad said, offering his hand after the sheriff finished shaking with Jess’s mom. “We’re Geordi’s parents.”

  “You’re all from Memphis, I take it,” said the sheriff after introducing herself.

  “Yes,” said Mom. “Have you found Sandor’s father?”

  “I still have three of my men out searching. It may be a while before we know anything about him.” The sheriff threw another annoyed glance at Jess, Toff, and me. “But I’ve interviewed the kids, and here’s what I know so far from them. They went to the missing man’s job and were told he was last seen at Highway 64 and Route 28Z. They hitchhiked their way here with a woman none of them knows, found the missing man’s car abandoned, went into the forest to look for him, and got attacked by another man who was wearing some of the missing man’s clothes. That man pulled a gun on them.”

  “A gun?” Mom, Dad, and Mrs. Sanchez all barked in horrified unison.

  “Yes. They said they fought the man and managed to knock the gun out of his hand into some lake, and the man ran off into the forest. We’re trying to track this man down as well.”

  With equal portions of fear and fury on her face, her mouth hanging open, Mrs. Sanchez turned to glare at Jessica. I lowered my eyes to the ground so I wouldn’t have to see the way my parents looked at me. Toff took my hand and squeezed.

  “Folks,” Sheriff Villanova said, “this is an active crime scene. I’m going to have to ask you all to leave now so we can process the scene and continue our investigation. I understand you’ll be returning to Memphis—”

  “I don’t want to go back yet,” Toff interrupted. He looked anxiously from Mrs. Sanchez to my parents. “I want to stay until they find my dad.”

  I turned to Mom. “Can’t we stay, you, me, and Toff? Can’t we get a room at a motel somewhere?”

  “That is something to consider, Mrs. Sanchez, Mr. and Mrs. Quintrell,” said the sheriff. “At some point I will need to talk with the kids again. If you stay somewhere locally, it will save you from having to drive back from Memphis.”

  “Sheriff, my son and I have to work tomorrow,” Mrs. Sanchez said. “We’ll have to go home tonight. But I will arrange to get Jessica back here when you need to talk with her. And believe me, she will fully cooperate with you in every way.” She said that last sentence while shooting lasers from her eyes at Jess. Things were not going to be pretty in the Sanchez home tonight.

  Dad was looking at me, but I avoided looking back at him. “My wife and I will stay here tonight with the boys,” he said to the sheriff.

  Mom raised her eyebrows in surprise. “We will?”

  “We’ll find a hotel in Selmer,” Dad went on, “and stay at least through tomorrow.”

  “All right. Let me get everyone’s phone numbers and home addresses, and then you folks can be on your way.” Sheriff Villanova pulled out a pad and pen.

  Chapter 14

  WE STOPPED at a Walmart where Mom and Dad bought toothpaste, toothbrushes, deodorant, a change of underwear for each of us, and a nightie for Mom. Then we got two rooms at Miranda’s Bed and Breakfast on the outskirts of Selmer’s business district. It was twenty minutes until midnight. I felt tired and achy all the way down to my bones. I could see that Toff felt the same, on top of all the fear and worry he felt for his father. When Dad handed me the card key to the room I’d be sharing with Toff, I wanted nothing more than a quick shower, some time to comfort Toff, and then my head on a pillow.

  With the door pushed open, I walked into the room, followed by Toff. The room looked cozy and homey. There were two full-sized beds with what appeared to be handmade quilts, two padded rocking chairs beside a fireplace, a shelf lined with books, and two recliners facing a television. I was on a beeline to the attached bathroom when Dad said, “Okay, Diana, I know you’re not comfortable with the boys bunking together now, so I’ll stay in here with them.”

  I stopped right at the bathroom door. Oh. Hell. No. There was no way I’d room with Dad. I’d sleep naked on the roof before I’d let that happen.

  “No, you don’t have to do that, Ben,” said Mom. “Why don’t you take Toff over to our room for a while? I want to have a talk with Geordi.”

  Dad walked over and put a hand on Toff’s shoulder. His hand looked massive and strong. He stood a solid six feet. I wondered, not for the first time, if I’d ever have his height and his strength. I wondered when I’d be able to get away from him for good. “Come on, kiddo,” Dad said as he began to escort Toff out of the room. “You look as if you have a lot on your mind. Maybe you and I can have our own talk.”

  Mom closed the door after them, still holding the Walmart bag with the things she’d purchased for herself. “Let’s sit down, Geordi,” she said, gesturing toward the rocking chairs.

  We sat down with our bodies angled toward each other. Mom placed the bag on her lap. The fireplace between us added an air of intimacy that seemed to pull us even closer together. Mom had every reason to be royally pissed with me, but I didn’t sense any anger in her. She reached over and tenderly took my hand.

  “Honey,” she said, “you are so in love with Toff.”

  No. I’m not.

  “I see that. You’ve been in love with him for a good while, and I’m surprised the two of you didn’t get together before now. I understand how your feelings for him can make you want to stand by him. That’s one of the beautiful things about love, the way it makes us take care of each other. But Geordi, you can’t let love blind you to certain realities.”

  “What realities, Mom?”

  “That the two of you are still children, for one thing. Sure, you’re old enough to make certain decisions for yourselves, old enough to have sex—”

  “Toff and I aren’t having sex. I don’t think we’ll ever have sex.”

  She smiled. It was one of those yeah-right smiles. “Just let me finish. The two of you are only a few years away from being adults, but you’re not there yet, and some things you have to leave to adults. You, Toff, and Jess never should have tried to find Mr. Toffler on your own. Once he disappeared you kids should have come to me or your dad or Mrs. Sanchez. You should have let us deal with it.”

  “But Toff didn’t want me or Jess to tell anybody. He was so upset and so scared, and I didn’t want to make things worse for him.”

  “How much worse would things have been if you or he or Jess had gotten shot trying to find his dad?”

  Oh. Good point.

  “I don’t believe for one second the three of you hitchhiked your way out here. Someone you know brought you, and you don’t want to say who that was. Is that person safe?”

  “Uhm… yeah. Definitely.” Jake had sent me a text message after he pulled his mom’s car into the garage. He said it would probably be the last text I got from him for a while. I’m sure there was a serious grounding in his immediate future. Just as there was about to be in mine.

  “Okay. Then that’s an issue we can leave until another time. You, Toff, and Jessica had no idea what you were getting yourselves into. What you did was very dangerous, even for an adult. That’s why we have the police,
to deal with situations like this. And did you stop to think for one moment how frantic Mrs. Sanchez, your dad, and I would be if you kids disappeared for hours, at night, with your cell phones shut off?”

  “I know, Mom, and I’m sorry. We didn’t want to worry anybody.”

  “But that’s exactly what you did. I shake every time I think of the danger you put yourselves in… fighting a man with a gun….”

  “We found Mr. Toffler’s footprints on a trail going into the forest, so we followed the trail and found this guy sleeping by the lake. He had on some of Mr. Toffler’s clothes, so we figured he must know where Mr. Toffler was. We were just trying to get him to tell us, but he pulled out a gun, and it was Mr. Toffler’s gun. And then we were all fighting, the gun got knocked into the water, the guy ran off, and that’s when Jess called the police.”

  Mom held my hand tighter. “Oh, Geordi. I am so glad none of you were seriously hurt. But you must never do anything like this again. Do you understand?”

  “Yes, Mom.”

  “You know you’re going to be punished for this.”

  I sighed in resignation. “Yes, Mom.”

  “Just so we’re clear. Now, let’s talk about you and Toff and sex.”

  “Mom, on that subject, there’s nothing to talk about.”

  “Let’s talk anyway. The sexual urge is in overdrive at your age. And when you’re in love with someone, the desire to be intimate with him can become even stronger.”

  Yeah, I want to be intimate with a guy all right, just not with Toff.

  “You’re growing up so fast. I suppose part of me wants to keep you my little precious prince for a while longer, but I have to face certain realities as well. I understand that you and Toff want to have sex. And I know that when you feel ready for it, you’re going to do it. That’s natural and certainly nothing to be ashamed of or uptight about. But I want you to be safe if and when you do choose to have sex.” She reached into the Walmart bag and produced a small box of condoms. “Do you know how to use one of these?”