Chapter Eleven #2
“There’s going to be a little thing today for Ivey Slee. Everyone loved her at the school, and the staff wants to do this for the community. She was a sweet person,” he offered. “You might find it helpful by hitting it up.”
He picked up another paper and handed it to Ethan. It was a photocopy of a flyer with all the information on it.
“I’ll be heading there later today,” Jerry admitted. “This community takes care of its own.”
That was laughable, but Ethan managed to keep his comment to himself. This ‘community’ didn’t take care of the people on the reservation. If anything, they complained about the ‘Indians’ having all the good hunting land.
In this case, it was best to say nothing. This had been a decent meeting, and he’d keep it that way.
As for the school, he knew the address, since both he and Callen went there, but he still made note of it, and took the flyer too.
“Thanks, Jerry.”
The man didn’t mind.
Gene was curious.
“Can I use your fax?” he asked. “To send this to our office to get the ball rolling?”
He nodded.
“Sure can. It’s out on Mary’s desk. Just give her the number if she’s there, or you can use it.”
Gene headed out, leaving Ethan with the man. He was still in shock that this was going so well.
It was bizarre.
“So, Ethan, you’re from here, and the family is still here?” he asked.
He nodded.
“Yes, why?”
He shrugged.
“No reason. Just chitchat. I’m just curious. Native, huh? You don’t look it.”
Oh, he was aware. That would be the Caucasian genes more front and center, thanks to his mother.
“I’m half-Native.”
The man grinned.
“I’m half-Polish.”
Oh, goodie.
They had something to bond over, even though he’d absolutely rather not.
At least the guy wasn’t being racist. That was another plus in his column.
“Are you from here?” he asked Jerry, making small talk like it mattered.
Spoiler.
It didn’t.
Jerry nodded.
“Yeah, I grew up here. I went to school here, and then I started protecting and serving here. Boy, was I glad to get off of the street beat and into homicide. Beat cops’ jobs suck.”
He imagined, but he didn’t know.
Being a Fed was like being a detective but skipping the street beat bullshit. You got your ass thrown right to the wolves on day one—especially if there was an agent shortage.
“Do you like your job?” Jerry asked him.
Ethan opened his mouth, about to say yes.
“Well, what’s not to like? I get to see the worst of people, walk through blood, and play in their sick minds. I love it.”
The man stared at him like he was crazy.
Well, that was because he was. Every single agent who did what he and Gene did was batshit insane. You had to have some fractures in your psyche to play these kinds of games.
“Uh…,” Jerry began, but didn’t get to finish.
When Gene came back in, Ethan was grateful. He rarely did ‘chitchat’. There was just no reason for him to do it.
Ever.
Especially with someone he didn’t know, or care to know.
“All sent,” Gene said. “Someone will be picking up the bodies as soon as possible,” Gene added, knowing that would likely be hours.
Still, they were on their way to being theirs.
Jerry stood.
“I’m sorry that you had to circumnavigate Doc. He really is a good doctor, but just miserable as shit.”
Yeah, they could tell.
“We appreciate your time and the coffee,” Ethan said, as the man handed him a to-go lid for his paper cup.
They had a long day ahead of them, and they needed to regroup and make a plan.
“My pleasure. Good luck,” Jerry said.
The two men headed out, and when they left, the detectives were heading in. They walked right past them and said nothing to them.
In fact, they didn’t even look at them.
“Well, they hate us,” Gene admitted, once they were out of earshot.
Yeah, no kidding.
Ethan just laughed.
“If we had a dollar for every cop we encountered who didn’t like us…”
Yeah, Gene knew.
They’d be retiring and naked on that beach in Puerto Rico.
Bet.
On.
It.
“What’s next?” he asked.
Ethan was to the point.
“I’m switching it up. I want to start at the beginning, so let’s do the school, and talk to the co-workers. Then, we’ll hit the other places. I like to be methodical, so I don’t miss anything.”
He was aware.
Well, victim one’s life, it was.
Only, as they walked out, Ethan was silent again, and Gene couldn’t help but worry.
He’d said he was okay…
But was he?
Was Gene just overthinking it?
He guessed that time would tell.
Basically, when it bit him in the ass.
* * * Blackhawk & Cantrell * * *
Damascus High School
Nine Thirty A.M
They would have been able to tell that there was something being set up for Ivey Slee at the school, even if they hadn’t seen the flyer.
The place was buzzing.
There were cars in the parking lot, and the place had ribbons on just about every pillar or tree that they could find. The blowing pink ribbons in her honor were very telling.
She was loved by her co-workers and students.
Oh, and that she’d be missed.
Greatly.
It was a testament to the kind of person she was, and to the memory she left behind. They dealt with many deaths, and few victims got this kind of celebration of life.
“So, you went to school here?” Gene asked, trying to find anything to get Ethan to open up and have a conversation with him. It had been another silent ride across town, and Gene was still worried.
Only, at his question, Ethan laughed.
Yeah, he’d gone to school here, but it had been remodeled since then. The outside was whitewashed brick, and the irony wasn’t lost on him.
There were now more trees, and the landscaping said one thing.
Pride.
Funny, he’d felt none of that when he went to school here.
“Well, I did for two years. The last two years, I was removed from the rez, and I went to two different schools. I had four foster families from seventeen to eighteen,” he admitted.
The tone was cold, and that meant one thing.
Gene hadn’t meant to tread there.
Really.
Honestly, he’d not put two and two together when he realized Ethan had been taken by CPS. He’d assumed he’d stayed at the same school.
Clearly, he hadn’t.
Ethan didn’t talk about his time in foster care, and that he brought it up, Gene had hit a sore nerve.
That told Gene all he needed to know.
It was time to abort.
“Sorry. I didn’t mean to make you go there.”
Ethan shrugged.
“It’s no secret. They were shit families. I ran away from the first two, I got removed from the third one, and the last one was decent. Then, I was free. I was glad that I aged out, and I was able to go home—if I could call it that.”
Gene was curious.
“Why did you get removed from the one?” he asked, picking up on the one that seemed more alarming.
Ethan stared straight ahead.
“I held the ‘dad’ at knife point for trying to slide into my bed and molest me in the middle of the night.”
That hung there between them, and Gene was reminded that his life and Ethan’s were NOT the same.
Not even close.
What did he say to that?
“I’m sorry, EJ.”
He glanced over.
“It’s okay. I survived,” he said. “What doesn’t kill us makes us stronger, right? He had his license stripped from him, and I was the last kid his family got to make money off of and molest. What he didn’t realize was that I’m a fighter. I was born to fight my way out of bad situations.”
That hurt Gene’s heart. So much so, that he took his hand in his.
“I know you don’t talk about it,” he began.
Ethan actually laughed.
“Uh, I don’t talk about it because no one asks about it.
Everyone tiptoes around it, and I don’t bring it up because it’s a pity party waiting to happen.
I don’t want one of those. If someone asks, I’m more than happy to tell them it was Hell on earth.
I’d rather be at Gabe’s mercy for the next twenty-five years than spend my two years back there. ”
Well, that said it all.
Gene went there since his partner said he’d talk about it if someone genuinely asked questions. Curiosity got the best of him.
“What happened at the first two?”
Ethan shared.
Because he’d not been lying.
No one ever asked until just now.
“The first two families were neglectful, and I barely got fed. I figured out that running away was the easiest way to get moved to another family, and I kept trying to find one that wasn’t a shithole.”
That made Gene want to rage and hurt someone for breaking this man.
Ethan kept talking.
“I got lucky. The last one was nice. She was a sweet woman, and she and her husband couldn’t have kids. So, she was the first one to treat me like I was human. I had my own bathroom, and the food wasn’t restricted. She’d help me with my homework, and didn’t sneer at me for being half-white.”
Gene didn’t say anything.
Instead, he just let his man talk.
“I wish I would have gotten placed there earlier. Her husband was this guy who always wanted to do something. It was like idle hands were the devil’s workshop, but for fun things.
For the first time in my life, I went to amusement parks.
I got actual clothing and shoes, and I never went hungry.
They were the unicorn in the foster system. ”
When Gene didn’t say anything, Ethan looked over. That’s when he saw him.
Holy shit.
His partner was crying.
“Hey, it’s okay,” Ethan said. “I’m good.”
Gene shook his head.
“I’m not. Knowing you went through that when I was just living a normal life, playing football, and being loved… How do I not think about the disparity in your existence, and not let it hurt my heart?”
Ethan leaned over and kissed him on the cheek.
“No one cared. I was the throwaway, and that’s one more reason I can’t be here, Gene. Timothy could have adopted me, too. He could have claimed me. He’ll say money was tight, and yada yada, but…he could have tried at least.”
Gene was honest.
“I would have come for you. I would have given you my life and taken yours.”
Honestly, he believed him. Gene was just that kind of a guy, and he loved him for it. When he wanted to protect, he did, and Ethan always felt more than safe with him.