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Officer Denton and his prisoner approached the ancient hard wood bench backed up to the wall across from the equally antiqued booking desk. The bench's sole occupant glanced up at them. The girl, not much older than Sage, bit her lip as if making an appraisal then gave a grin and a wink. Uncomfortable under such intense scrutiny, Sage squirmed in the cop's bony grasp.
"You wouldn't be trying to get away now, would you?" The cocky cop asked.
Sage just shook her head.
He smiled a yellow toothed smile. "Good thing 'cause otherwise I'd have to make sure I hurt you something awful."
With that said, he shoved her down on the bench. He leaned over her to fasten the handcuffs to a metal bar bolted to the wall behind the bench. Sage tried to duck her head out of his way but only succeeded in getting caught under a sweaty, garlic smelling armpit.
"Hold still, Stupid," he hissed under his breath.
The pull on Sage's arms increased as the cop tried to make his point felt if not heard. Sage forced herself to relax and let him push and shove her any way he wanted. There was nothing she could do. Chained as she was, she couldn't get away. Even if she got away from garlic boy there were dozens of other blue suited individuals standing around who, she was certain, would be more than happy to shoot her to end any kind of escape attempt.
The tension on her arms finally eased. Officer Denton stood up and backed up a step or two. His smirk grew as he adjusted his thick black belt and puffed up his chest.
"Anytime you want to start cooperating with us, you just give a little whistle."
Each word was spoken with a slight bob of his head. He acted as if he alone possessed some secret knowledge. Officer Denton was obviously quite pleased about something but Sage wasn't even remotely interested in his secret. She sat back against the grimy wood and closed her eyes to shut him out.
"What about me?" The girl at the other end of the bench spoke up. "You waiting for me to start cooperating too, Dented?"
Sage opened her eyes in time to see Denton grab the girl by the shirt front. He dragged her half way up to meet his sneering face. The chain pulled taunt against the girl's handcuffs, anchoring her in place.
"You should start shutting up for a change, Bitch. Otherwise, somebody's gonna have to show you some manners."
"Oh, I got manners. Plenty of manners, Sir. See, I haven't kneed you in the nuts yet."
Denton let out a strangled cough as he released the girl. He doubled over to grab his bruised crotch. The cops standing around started to jeer at their stricken comrade while the girl grinned happily and wiggled herself back into her seat.
"That's enough!" The desk sergeant hollered without lifting her head up from her filing. "Everybody back to work. Denton, I can't believe you didn't see that one coming. You're a fuckin' embarrassment. Go get some ice or something and stop bothering the kiddies."
Denton pulled himself together enough to get up from the floor. He straightened up slightly but couldn't manage to square his shoulders. Giving one last growl toward the smug girl on the bench, he made his way to the locker room.
"That never gets old," the girl giggled softly before turning toward Sage. "So, what's your story?"
Sage did not reply. Instead, she rested her head against the wall to try to find some smidgen of comfort where there was none to be found. Having done the best she could to take some ease, she closed her eyes again.
"Okay, strong and silent. I can relate. I'm short and mouthy. We all got a stereotype to play. No problem. I'll get the ball rolling. Just remember, 5 - 0 got them big ears so don't cop to nothin' 'less you want to pull down more time at juvie. You are juvie bound, right?"
She fell silent for a moment. Sage hoped the blessed quiet would last a while but today was not her lucky day.
"I'm guessing you're 'bout sixteen. Right? Tell me if I'm right. Come on, I'll tell you. Okay, I'm almost sixteen myself. So, fifteen and a half if you want to get technical. I'm guessing you're older but you're tall so I might be off by a year or two. Anyway, my name's Tristan. They allege I stole a car and vandalized private property. And, that would be a horrible thing to do, right? So, I wouldn't be likely to do something like that. Nope, not me. Even if the creep deserved it. Like, if he got that nice ride and fancy blingbling by selling crack to kids and whores. Nope, I doubt I'd be so petty as to drive his car into the harbor with that trunk load of poison and a suitcase in the back seat filled with stolen jewelry. Guys shouldn't were jewelry anyway. But, I doubt I'd be that vindictive…so what did you allegedly do?"
Sage's eyes burned from lack of sleep. She realized the girl had stopped talking again. She hoped the respite would last longer this time.
"Shy? You're shy, aren't you? That's okay. I can fill in the time by myself. There are a million things running through my head. You just rest up there and I'll entertain you. Okay, let's see…where did I leave off…right, my alleged crime is totally bogus. First of all, wouldn't he need to really own the car before he could report it stolen? I'm no snitch but Bid Bad Bebo borrowed, and I'm using the liberal definition of the word, that car from one of his customers while the guy's in the hospital. Seems, his back somehow got broken…or so the story goes…anyway…"
"Would you PLEASE shut UP!"
Sage didn't mean to shout. Her anger seemed to build with every word out to the girl's mouth. It was an endless stream of meaningless words about people Sage would never care about. As she stared at the startled young woman, Sage felt her heart racing in her chest. Her breath was coming in panting gasps. She was very angry. It suddenly struck Sage that she was glad she was chained to the wall. Otherwise, she might have done something terrible to the annoying girl next to her.
"Well," Tristan noticeably swallowed before she replied, "all you had to do was ask."
Sage gave a small sigh. She settled back to try to find that one position which was not entirely miserable. Her eyes drifted closed as her body relaxed once more. Peace and quiet prevailed…for a moment.
"I mean, I'm not one to go on and on and on endlessly. All you need to do is ask nice. Something like, 'Tristan, could you, perhaps, give me a moment' or something like that. See, if you let me know you have something on your mind then I'm one hundred percent with you. Not a peep, nothing, to disturb you. What is it? Worried? Oh, need a lawyer? That's it, right? Tell me I'm right. Your parents can't afford a quality guy, right? Not to worry. Get you're folks to file a CHINS on you. Then they can get you your own lawyer and they don't need to foot the bill. You'll get sprung and they'll be glad to dodge the bill. See, I don't got to worry about stuff like that. My Mom's got nothing so they just give me a lawyer. Mom doesn't even have to show up. She usually doesn't. This time might be a little more complicated 'cause it was her old man's car but…"
"Can't you give me a break?" Sage hissed as she lurched toward her tormentor.
Tristan scooted as far away from her irritated bench mate as she could. "Hold on now; don't do anything to get yourself in any deeper."
"Allegedly deeper," Sage growled through clenched teeth as she strained to get closer to Tristan.
"Whoa, whoa, what you gonna do? Bite me?"
The obvious panic in Tristan's voice made Sage grin. It was not a pleasant grin.
"I was thinking about a head butt."
Tristan flinched on the final 't.' "And, what will that accomplish? Nothing but a headache for two."
"If it'll shut you up then it's totally worth the pain."
"Shut up? That's all you want? I can shut up…see…" Tristan pressed her lips together hard to demonstrate.
Sage eased off a bit. She paused then went back to her previous position. Her eyes close once more. A deep breath calmed her and slowed her raging pulse.
"I'm willing to shut up but I need something from you…" Tristan whispered.
Sage's eyes snapped open and she bared her teeth at the other girl. Tristan didn't flinch this time. In fact, she edged a little closer to Sage. Closing the distance, she gave a wink. It was the wink of a proposition.
"Tell me your name."
"Why?" Sage was confused by the girl's sudden confident manner.
Tristan glanced over to the booking sergeant who was nose deep in a dirty paperback, "In addition to being an alleged car thief, I'm a professional snitch. Ines will take care of me if I deliver your name."
Sage sneered in disgust. Before she could state her thoughts on the revelation, Tristan continued, "Look, they're gonna find out soon enough. You're so green you don't even know that much about the system. I'm not givin' them nothing they won't find out in the next couple of days. Give this one thing up. It'll get your ass off this bench and get you into a warm bed down at juvie. And, I get my due."
"And, what's your due?" Sage questioned with more than a hint of anger in her tone.
"I walk. They lose the paperwork. I skate on this one. Don't worry. They'll pick me up before the end of the week on something else. Trust me, Ines already knows what she's gonna charge me with next."
Sage asked, "So, what's the point?"
"I got to take care of something. Need a few days to put it all together. I'm going down until I'm eighteen on the next bust. No way out of it, this time," Tristan was resigned to her fate.
"You just need to get your affairs in order," Sage restated Tristan's dilemma.
Tristan gave a gentle nod, "That's the gist of it."
"Forget it," Sage turned away from the girl. "Find somebody else to rat out."
"For Christ's sake, they're gonna find out anyway. Let me have this one thing. What difference could it possibly make to you?" Tristan let her anger flare.
Sage sat in simmering silence.
The door to the police station banged open with a blast of cold air. A man in a black cape hustled inside. Sage recognized Mr. Matthews before she saw the flash of pink lining. A second man, considerably older, stepped in and looked around while Mr. Matthews shut the door. She had no time to duck her head before J. Granville Sebastian locked his gaze on her.
"Oh God," he shouted in a hoarse voice.
"Shit," Sage cursed.
"Sage, my Sage, thank God," J. Granville offered the prayer aloud for all to hear.
He crossed the room in three steps. The old man stunned Sage by dropping to his knees. He rested his forehead on her knees and proceeded to sob. Sage was horrified by his open display of emotion. Never in her life had she witnessed either of her parents lose their composure. It just wasn't done. The old man looked up at her in awe. His hands immediately began to reverently stroke her face.
"It's alright, we'll take care of everything, don't worry,…" he repeated over and over.
Ines side stepped Mr. Matthews to approach the prisoners' bench. "May I ask, what the Hell is going on out here?"
"He's her Dad or her granddad or something…her name is Sage…Batman there is with them," Tristan started to rattle off as she pulled wildly against her restraints. "Her name's Sage. I found out for you. I was just gonna signal the desk jockey to get you. Sage, that's her name. The old guy's her dad or granddad and the other guy is…I don't know a magician…something…I kept my end up…"
"Your end's up alright." Ines raised her hand to stop Tristan's prattle. "Denton, get your ass out here and escort Ayer to juvie. She's got to get her sleep for court tomorrow."
"No, don't. Wait! We had a deal. I got her name for you," Tristan babbled onward.
"Yep, moments after everybody got her name you were right there repeating it. Come on, be a good girl. We got a nice long ride ahead of us," Denton ended his request with a wink.
"Come on, I just got the name…give me a chance here. You said, you'd help me," Tristan was desperately arguing as Denton released her from the bench.
"Get her out of here," Ines waved the pair away unimpressed. "Okay, who wants to fill me in on the family reunion?"
Mr. Matthews stepped forward. "I'm Mr. Sebastian's personal attorney. It seems one of our overactive security officers inadvertently interfered with a private family matter."
"Not so private. Breaking the law is a public safety issue. This girl racked up a number of very serious charges; theft, trespassing, B&E, resisting arrest, failure to identify herself," Ines ticked off the items on her fingers as she listed each one.
"If the original charges, trespassing and theft, are without merit then none of the following charges apply," Mr. Matthews stated simply. "The hotel belongs to the Sebastian family so it is quite impossible for Sage to trespass. The food items identified as stolen were bought by me for her. So, there is no theft."
Ines gave a weary sigh as she reached for her keys. She moved beside the bench and gently pushed Sage forward. With two clicks, the handcuffs were removed.
Mr. Matthews helped Mr. Sebastian to his feet. The pair stood waiting for Sage to get up. Sage rubbed her wrists and thought about making a break for the door.
"If I were you, I'd go home with this very reasonable father of yours," Ines advised.
"He's not…,"
"As your attorney, I think that is the best decision you could make under the circumstances." Mr. Matthews went on to note, "I mean, who knows what other charges the police could file against you. It might take a week or two for me to get those kinds of problems cleared up."
Sage stared her father. In spite of his pale features, his focus was strong and unapologetic. She knew he'd play hard ball with her if he felt he had no other option. Sage nodded her agreement. Both men relaxed. Sage had not realized until that moment how nervous they both were.
Sage stood with them but waited for one of them to lead her. Mr. Matthews obliged her silent request and moved toward the door. Sage fell into step behind him. J. Granville lingered a minute then filled in the last place of their measly parade.
Sage shivered against the cold as she descended the steps of the police station. Her foot slipped slightly but before she could grab the railing, J. Granville wrapped his arm around her waist. He tugged her close for the final three granite stairs. The town car's rear door was opened by a familiar bulky shape. Sage didn't acknowledge the man when she climbed inside. J. Granville followed right after her but Mr. Matthews did not join them. The door shut with a forceful thud.
"I don't want to go to your house," Sage spat out.
"Okay."
Silence hung heavy as the car slid away from the curb.
"Okay?"
J. Granville nodded.
Sage had not expected him to agree. "I want to go back to the hotel."
"Okay."
Sage asked in disbelief, "Just like that. You're gonna let me go back to my crawl space?"
"No," J. Granville took her hand in his own very cold hand. "You'll stay in the Penthouse. The rooms were made ready for you once we found out you were hiding…"
"I wasn't hiding…" Sage was indignant.
"…okay, when we found out you were living in the abandoned draft room in the basement."
Sage turned away from him and stared out the window. They had been watching out for her. The guy with the cape made sure she got fed. She wondered how any of them could care about her after what she did to Brook. She knew it was futile but she needed to apologize. It was the least she could do considering the magnitude of her true crime.
"I'm sorry…I'm sorry, I killed Brook."
"What?" J. Granville sounded so stunned that Sage had to face him. "Is that what you think? Sage, Brook isn't dead. She's been home from the hospital for weeks. She'll be at the Penthouse when we get there."
"She's alright?" Sage blinked in disbelief.
J. Granville shrugged, "She's been worried sick about you but she recovered form the accident, if that's what you mean?"
Sage could only nod. Everything she believed for the last seven months was wrong. She was suffering and alone for all those sleepless nights and horrible days for no reason.
For the first time in a very long time, Sage wept.