“Last Tuesday at the Y.” He flopped down onto the sofa. Dorie poked her nose around the corner, peering toward the kitchen. “We just said hi and stuff. She asked if I was going to be online later and I said I was.”
“Did you talk to her online that night?”
“Yeah, we played for a couple of hours, like regular.”
“How did she seem to you?”
“Like normal. She didn’t say she was planning on being kidnapped.”
“Those are nice kicks over there,” she said, nodding at the sneakers. “Are you a runner?”
“Kinda.” He shrugged one large shoulder. He was fit and strong—a man’s body even if he was only seventeen. Legally, though, they were questioning a minor without his guardian present.
“Where’s your grandmother?”
“She’s at work. Left at six. She don’t know where Chloe’s at, either, in case you’re wondering.”
“Where do you think she is?”
“Man, if I knew, I’d go there myself and get her. Whoever took her, they’ll catch these hands.” He held up his fists.
“What’s that you have on your knuckles?”
“Oh, that,” he said, sounding embarrassed as he tucked his hands away. “I was just messing around.” Ellery waited, expectant, and he reluctantly held them out to show her. One hand read: “DEATH,” but the other said: “LIFE.” “It’s just Sharpie. See?”
“I see. Does it mean anything?”
He looked at her like she was an idiot. “Only everything. Every day, you got to choose.”
“You make good choices, Tyreek?” Dorie asked as she rejoined him.
“I try to,” he said, wary now.
“What would your PO say? Would they agree?”
“Hey, I’m so clean I squeak, man. You can ask my PO. You can ask anybody.”
“You weren’t so clean a couple of years ago,” Ellery answered.
He huffed an angry breath and jumped off the couch. “I didn’t do anything to that girl. I was just there, you understand? I didn’t even know it was going down until she came out of the room with her clothes all ripped up. I thought she was into it, that she wanted to be with Darius.”
“Why don’t you tell us what happened?”
He took a deep breath and held out those enormous hands. “It was a party thrown by some dudes that Darius knew. Yeah, there was drugs there. No, I wasn’t doing them. My grandma would shoot me herself if I started taking that stuff. This girl, Tre’ana, she was at the party too. People were drinking, smoking up. There was loud music playing. At one point, I look over, and Tre’ana’s grinding on D. So when he took her upstairs, I figured it was probably her idea. But they didn’t come back and it got late. I had to get home and D was my ride. I went up there to the bedroom and I knocked. I knocked a bunch of times ’fore the door opened. D had no clothes on. Tre’ana had no bottom. Her top was ripped. D laughed and asked if I wanted a turn. While he was talking to me, she grabbed her clothes and ran. She had a cut on her hand and the blood got on me when she ran by. So when the cops showed up, they thought I was in on it.”
“The girl must’ve said otherwise, no?” Dorie asked.
“She was high. There was other dudes in the room off and on. She didn’t know who all they were, but I was the only one with blood on him, so I’m the one who got busted. I swear to you, I didn’t touch her.”
“She was fourteen years old,” Ellery said, looking at him steadily.
“She looked older.” At her glare, he held up his palms. “She did! But you see, it don’t matter how old she was because I didn’t touch that girl. I’m not that kind of guy.”
“What kind of guy are you?” Dorie asked.
“Nowadays? I’m the kind who minds his own business.”
“Tell us about your relationship with Chloe,” Ellery said.
“Man, what ‘relationship’? We’re friends, that’s it. She’s just a kid, like a little cousin or something.”
“And you met her at the Y?”
“Yeah, about six months ago. Turns out she’s a gamer, like me.” He gestured toward the television. “That girl can shoot, let me tell you. Course I wanted her on my squad. Plus, I don’t know…” He scratched the back of his head.
“What?” Ellery demanded.
He shrugged. “Around here, you want to mind your own business, you’ve got to stay off the streets. I didn’t want no part of what Darius was doing—that’s his road, not mine. His crew came around a few times while he was locked up, thinking maybe I’d want to take his spot. I told them no way. After a while, they believed me. They stopped coming round. It got awful quiet in here. That’s when I got into gaming and other stuff—to keep busy, find someone to talk to, you know? I think maybe it was the same way for Chloe. Her parents are, like, insane strict. She doesn’t get to hang out with her friends.”
“Did she ever come hang out here with you?”
He cackled. “Yeah, that’ll happen. I sneak in some little white rich girl to hang out. Her parents would have me in bracelets quicker than you can say statutory rape.”
“I thought you weren’t into her.”
“I’m not,” he said, belligerent. “But I know how the world works.”
“You said she’s rich,” Dorie said as her gaze slid to the large television that Ellery had noticed. “How did you find that out? Ever been to her place?”
“No, I told you. We talked only at the Y and online. I know she’s rich because of the stuff she says. Like, they got two laundry rooms in her house. Why the hell do they need two laundry rooms? There’s only Chloe and her parents living there.” He shook his head, baffled. “Meanwhile, Grandma and I have to haul our clothes to the Suds-o-mat three blocks away.”
“So Chloe’s never been here,” Ellery said. “Not once?”
“She didn’t so much as walk by outside.”
“Good.” She nodded with satisfaction now that she’d locked him into his story. “Then you wouldn’t mind if we took a look around.”
“You think I got her stashed in a closet or something?” He spread his arms and made an exasperated sound in the back of his throat. “Go ahead. Look all you want. There’s nothing to see.”
Ellery and Dorie walked the length of the stuffy apartment, the old wooden floor creaking beneath their feet. In her mind’s eye, Ellery pictured Chloe as she was on the day of her abduction, in the pink T-shirt, jean shorts, and sandals. She had diamond stud earrings and a black-and-white beaded bracelet around her left wrist. Ellery didn’t really believe Tyreek had stashed Chloe in a closet, but she held her breath each time they opened one. Their search turned up nothing but winter coats, a vacuum, and a bunch of boxes. Ty’s grandmother’s room held a Shaker-style bedroom set and another expensive television was mounted on the wall. A window fan spun lazily in the mild breeze. She had framed pictures on the dresser, including one of a young woman and a toddler who looked like he was probably Ty. The room smelled like perfume and felt heavy with memory.