Grave Apparel (77 page)

“Jasmine, listen to me.
You
really did help Cassandra.
You

saved
her life when you called
me.”
Lacey
waited
while Jas mine drank some of her soda and Lily Rose
blew
her
nose.
“How
did he
know
your mother? Can you tell me?”

“They
partied
and
stuff.
They
did
drugs
together.
Drugs
make
you stupid.
That’s
what she told us,
but
it
didn’t
stop
her.
I hate drugs and I hate
him.”

“Did he sell your mother drugs?”

“We
don’t
have
any
money.
He just
knew
these guys who had drugs and he
gave
her drugs for free. He
represented
these drug guys, she said. He
was
my
mom’s
lawyer
too.”

“Her
lawyer was
giving
her free drugs?”

“I think it
was
for
sex.
You
know.
We
know
all about
sex,
Lily
Rose
and
me.
We
learned
it
in
school.
Mom
said
this
lawyer
dude
was
too smart to get caught so it
was
okay,
and not to
worry
about
her.
But she got caught and he helped
her.
She
never
told us his name, so I
don’t
know
his name.
He’s
creepy.
She just called him the Lawyer Dude. Or
Mr.
Lawyer
Man.
Like
she
would
say,
‘Jasmine,
take
care of your
sister,
I gotta go see
Mr.
Lawyer
Man.’
”

She
said
it
blithely,
but
Lacey
blanched.
Anna
Mai
Lee
couldn’t
pay
a
lawyer;
she
must
have
had
Legal
Aid
or
a
pro
bono
defender.
Was
this the “sharp
lawyer”
Broadway
Lamont mentioned, the one who got her charges dropped? And
how
many lawyers did Cassandra know? Probably a lot,
but
two
very
intimately,
that
Lacey
was
aware
of.
Alex
Markham and Henderson
Wilcox.
Whoever
it
was,
the name
would
be on the court documents.

Tomorrow
I’ll
know
who
the
Santa
Dude is.

“Can we
have
an apple pie
now,
Lacey?”
Jasmine
asked
in a
tiny
voice.
All this talking seemed to
have
used up her
energy
and she needed replenishment.

“Of
course.”
Lacey
got them all hot apple pies and another cup of
coffee
for herself. She
checked
her cell phone while she
waited
at the
counter.
No messages. She needed to call Mac. And
Vic.
And
Jeffrey
now
too? After dessert, she thought, then the girls might be ready to trust her to
take
them to a safe place. Jasmine
blew
on her pie to cool it
down.
Lily Rose
followed
suit.
They
ate their pies
silently,
and
Lacey
let Jasmine
take
her time.

“There’s
something else we need to
figure
out. Where you guys are going to
live,”
Lacey
said.
“You
can’t
sleep in the laun dry room
forever.
It’s
not safe.
You
have
to
have
more than that.
You
need a real
home.”

“We
can
stay
with
Miss
Charday,”
Jasmine
said.
“She
doesn’t
even
notice us ’cause she sleeps a lot of the time.
We’re
quiet.
We’re
being really
good.”

“I
know
you are, Jasmine,
but
you
aren’t
even
getting all your
meals.”

“She lets us eat potato
chips,”
Lily Rose said.
“And
leftovers
sometimes.”

“It’s
really not safe for you
there.”
Lacey
could feel their fear of
leaving
familiar
surroundings,
but
she needed to lay out her case for Mac and Kim. She needed to be sure
they
trusted
her.
Handing them
over
to Mac and Kim, or to
anyone,
without their trust
would
just feel too
awful.
She
wasn’t
about to de
ceive
them.

“We’ll
be
fine,”
Jasmine said.
“We
take
care of each
other.”

“The Santa Dude could still be after you.
He’s
a dangerous
guy.”

“He
won’t
find
us.
We
don’t
live
at
our
place
anymore
’cause
they
made us
leave.”

“But
he’s
tried to
find
you. I
know.
He
was
asking Thelma DelRio where you were. She told
me.”
Jasmine’s
eyes
got
very
big. Thelma must be one of the adults keeping them
off
the
street.
Lacey
surveyed
the
restaurant
again;
she’d
been
watch
ing the doors
ever
since
they
entered. It
was
important to stay calm and not let them see she
was
frightened.
Lacey
tried to re
construct
what
she
had
told
all
the
Gaia
gang,
Cassandra,
Wendy,
Markham, and
Wilcox.
Had she let
anything
important
slip?

“We
have
to
find
you
a
safe
place
to
stay,”
she
started
again.
“Can we stay with you?” Lily Rose
asked.

You
bet,
guys.
We’ll
have
McDonald’s
every
night.
“That’s
really not a good
idea.”
Lacey
took a deep breath. “I
know
some great foster parents who really
want
you.”

“No!
Fosters
are terrible!” Jasmine said
hotly.
“They’d
split us
up.”
She stood up and grabbed her
new
coat as if to
make
a run for it.
Lacey
put a hand on her arm, gently
but
firmly.
Jas mine
waited,
watching
her
face.

“And
I need my sister!” Lily
Rose’s
eyes
filled
up with tears
again.
“I
want
to
be
with
my
sister.”

“All
they
want
is
the
money,”
Jasmine
said
bitterly.
“We
know
all about foster parents.
They
kick you out.
They
make
you go
somewhere
different
every
year.”

“And
they
beat
you,”
Lily
Rose
said.
“And
they
starve
you!”
“Have
you
ever
been in foster care?”
Lacey
asked.

Jasmine thrust out her chin. “No! Because we
have
a mother
and
we’re
being good!”
The tears threatened again.

“Sit
down
for a
minute,”
Lacey
said. “Please. I
have
a plan.

There are these people I
know.
They’re
really good
people.”

The older girl glared at
her.
“Right,
where’d
you hear that
fairy
tale?”

“Really,”
Lacey
continued.
“A
couple.
They
have a
big
house with lots of room for
two
girls.
They’re
friends of mine.
Very
good
friends.”

“What color are
they?”
Lily Rose
asked.

That question caught
Lacey
off
guard,
but
she realized it
was
natural. The girls were an ethnic mix,
they’d
be
sensitive
to that.

So
were
Mac
and
Kim.
“Well,
the
dad
is
mixed,
black
and
white. And the mom is AsianAmerican.
They
look a little bit
like
you.”
The girls
looked
at each
other,
their mouths open in amazement. “I’m not making it up, honest.
They
like
kids. And
they
aren’t
doing it for the
money.
They
have
enough
money.”

“What are their names?” the little one chirped.

“His name is Douglas MacArthur Jones.
We
call him Mac.
He’s
my boss, I see him
every
day,
and his wife is Kim.
They’re
looking
forward
to meeting
you.”

“Mac and Kim?” Lily Rose
looked
at her sister for direction.
“We
can
stay
with
Miss
Charday.”
Jasmine
stood
up
again.

“She’s
got our
television.
We
need our
own
TV.”

“Sleeping on a
sofa
in an apartment with someone
who’s
passed out all the time? Or in a laundry room and
never
getting fed? I
don’t
think so. I’m sure that Mac and Kim
have
a
televi
sion. And
you’ll
be
together.
And
I’ll
come see you to
make
sure
you’re
okay.”

“Do you promise we’ll be together?”
Jasmine’s
face was
fierce.
“And
you’ll
come see us?”

“Cross my
heart.”
Lacey
crossed her heart
solemnly.
“And
hope to die?” Lily Rose
waited
for the rest.

“And
hope
to
die,”
Lacey
said.
“I
don’t
say
those
words
lightly.
Is it a deal?”