But Not For Lust by BJ Bourg (comprehension books .txt) 📕

I smiled and gave Baylor a nod. “Thanks for the help. You can go home now and check on Amy.”

He hesitated. I knew he wanted to have a part in Neal’s arrest and he wanted to see this case through to the end. He loved being a cop. You could see it on his face every time he showed up for work. After a long moment of internal turmoil, he finally nodded in resignation.

“Yeah, I need to make sure she doesn’t need anything,” he said. “There’ll be more cases, right?”

I nodded.

Once Baylor, Takecia, and Melvin had left my office, Susan kissed me and told me to be careful.

“I’m always careful.”

She stopped at the door and smirked. “Try telling that to someone who doesn’t know you.”

Susan had barely exited my office when my desk phone buzzed. I snatched up the handset. “What’s up?” I asked Karla.

“There’s a man here to see you,” she said in a somber tone. “He says he’s Jerome Carter’s dad.”

“I’m coming.”

  CHAPTER 24

When Karla told me Jerome Carter’s dad was there to see me, I quickly stood and exited my office. I didn’t want to keep him waiting for a single second. I could see the man through the door as I approached the lobby. He was large and dressed in thick jeans, a welder’s shirt, and a welder’s cap. His large shoulders drooped. My heart sank for the man. It wasn’t his fault his son dealt in drugs.

“Mr. Carter?” I asked as I opened the door. “I’m Clint Wolf.”

“Jerome the Second,” he said. “I’m here about my boy.”

I nodded and waved for him to follow me to my office. Once we were seated inside and the door was shut, I took the chair beside him and explained what had happened in greater detail than I probably should have. I did so because I felt the man deserved to know exactly what had happened to his son.

Jerome, II sat slumped in his chair. He was a calm man, and one who was apparently slow to reaction. He listened silently as I spoke. He remained stone-faced as I gave the details of how his son had dived headlong into the bayou. It was only after I’d finished that his expression finally changed. He let out a long sigh and rubbed his tired face with dark hands. They were beefy and rough. When he looked up, the whites of his eyes were red.

“I did all I could to keep that boy straight,” he said somberly. “After his mom left us, it was hard to keep as close an eye on him because I had to work. He did okay in school and he was set to graduate on time when he fell in with that punk, Neal Barlow. He started hanging on the streets more and coming in late at night. I tried to discipline him, but nothing I did was enough. He’d always end up right back out there with that little punk.”

I nodded. “We have reason to believe Neal Barlow was the one supplying him with the drugs he was selling.”

“That’s what Rhonda told me.”

“You spoke to Rhonda?” I asked.

“Yeah, I called her an hour ago.” He tapped the cell phone in his pocket. “One of my nephews received a video from her that showed him running through the yard being chased by some officers. You were in the video.”

I nodded, but stayed silent while he continued.

“My nephew said he got a message from Rhonda saying that Jerome had been killed by the police—that y’all pushed him in the water and drowned him—and that he needed to get as many people together as he could so they could come out here and protest.” He shook his head. “I saw that video. No one laid a hand on my boy. He jumped on his own. You were the nearest officer to him and you were too far away to touch him. All he had to do was stop running and give himself up.”

Jerome, II took a haggard breath and blew it out.

“I just don’t understand why he would jump in the bayou,” he said with a shake of the head. “That boy never did learn how to swim. He was terrified of the water. He wouldn’t even get close to the water to fish.”

“I was shocked when I found out he couldn’t swim,” I admitted. “But even a swimmer would’ve been crazy to dive headfirst off of that high embankment.”

“What did he say to you?” He suddenly lifted his head and tapped the phone. “In the video, I saw him turn toward you right before he jumped. It looked like he said something to you. What was it? I need to know my son’s last words.”

I realized at that moment that I had inadvertently left it out when I’d recounted the events that had unfolded out at the apartment complex.

“He told me he wasn’t going back to prison,” I said. “Before I could say anything, he turned and dived over the side.”

“That sounds like him lately.” Jerome, II fixed me with sorrowful eyes. “Do you have kids?”

I nodded. “A daughter.”

“Cherish every moment you have with her, because you never know when it’ll be your last.” A tear spilled from the big man’s eye and rolled down his face. He stared down at the small patch of floor that separated us. “And don’t ever stay mad at them.”

I sensed a high level of regret in his tone. I didn’t dare ask why he had made that statement, but I didn’t have to, because he proceeded to tell me all about it.

“I…um…the last time we talked, it didn’t go good between us. He had been caught breaking into my neighbor’s house and it got me really mad, you know? Gary caught