When Bobby Ray got home from school, Mr. Salvaggio was in the entry hall near the mailboxes with a man Bobby Ray didn’t recognize. Mr. Salvaggio nodded at Bobby Ray. “He’s the one. Nobody’ll miss him.” The man slipped a wad of folded bills into Mr. Salvaggio’s fat fingers as Bobby Ray ran up the stairs.
The door was open this time. “Mama!” Relief surged until he saw the empty living room. All the furniture was gone. “Mama!” He ran for the bedroom. Not finding her there, he came out again, confused. The apartment was empty, except for a couple of boxes of Mama’s clothes in the middle of the room.
The man who’d been with Mr. Salvaggio came into the apartment. “You’re coming with me, kid.”
Bobby Ray backed away. “My mother’s coming home.”
“When was the last time you saw your mother? Four days ago, from what I hear. She’s gone. I’m gonna take care of you.” When Bobby Ray tried to dart past him to the door, the man caught him by the arm. When Bobby Ray fought and screamed, the man clapped a hard hand over his mouth. Bobby Ray bit him. The man backhanded him so hard, Bobby Ray saw yellow and black spots before being tossed over the man’s shoulder and carried out of the apartment, his legs trapped against the man’s rock-hard chest.
“What do you think you’re doing?” Bobby Ray heard his teacher’s voice coming from the landing below. Pounding the stranger’s back, Bobby Ray screamed for help. “Put that boy down!” Another man was asking for ID. Bobby Ray felt himself dumped. He bounced down half a dozen steps before someone caught hold of him. “I’ve got you.”
Mr. Talbot held him while a police officer went up the stairs, talking fast into a small radio mounted on a shoulder harness. “Six foot, 190, white, dark hair cropped short, brown bomber jacket, Levi’s, and black boots . . .”
Mr. Talbot asked Bobby Ray if he was hurt. He hurt everywhere. Mr. Talbot lifted him onto his lap and held him close. “It’s okay, Bobby Ray. We’re here to help.” Sobbing, Bobby Ray pressed into his teacher’s arms, his heart still pounding in fear. “Who was that man? Anyone you know?” Bobby Ray had never seen him before. “Where’s your mother?”
“I don’t know.” He hiccuped. “She promised she’d come back. She always comes back.” When asked how long ago she’d left, Bobby Ray scrubbed at his eyes and tried to think. He didn’t want to say five days. “I did my homework.”
Mr. Talbot’s eyes moistened. “Don’t worry about that now. Don’t worry about anything. Okay? We’re going to get you help.” The police officer came back down the stairs. The man had gotten away. Mr. Talbot sat in the backseat of the squad car with Bobby Ray and said everything was going to be okay. The police officer talked into his radio.
Bobby Ray didn’t want to leave. How would his mother find him if he left the apartment? He cried and screamed curses, kicking the back of the police officer’s seat.
When they got to the police station, Mr. Talbot sat with him until a lady with sad eyes came. Mr. Talbot ran his hand over Bobby Ray’s head. “Take care of yourself.” Bobby Ray knew then he’d never see his teacher again.
“I want my mother.”
The lady nodded. “We’re going to try to find her. In the meantime, we have a safe place for you to stay.”
Bobby Ray ended up across town with strangers. How was his mother going to find him? He didn’t argue or say anything. He ate what was set in front of him. He took the bath the foster mother said he should, put on the pajamas, and went to bed without a word. As soon as the house was silent, he put his clothes back on and climbed out the window.
The police picked him up in the Tenderloin the next day, near the apartment house where he and Mama had lived. Authorities sent him to another foster family farther away. The people kept a closer eye on him, but he still made his escape in less than a week.
ROMAN MADE COFFEE and fixed breakfast for Jasper early Monday morning. He folded the omelet and slid it onto Jasper’s plate. Dumping the pan into the sink, he suggested they sit outside.
“Not eating?”
“Maybe later.”
Jasper slid the glass door open. “It’s a bit fresh out there.”
The morning mist hadn’t burned off yet, and wouldn’t for hours. “I can loan you a jacket.”
“I’m fine.” Jasper finished the omelet and leaned back. “What’s on your mind, Bobby Ray?” He lifted his mug of coffee.