Read Even Steven for Free Online Page B

tell me what happened."
    "I don't know!" William blurted. "They pulled me over while I was driving Justin over to Wilson's and -"
    "You were taking a two-year-old to a bar?"
    For just an instant, the grief disappeared from Williams face, replaced with a flash of anger, which just as quickly went away. "I don't know why I was doing that. I know it's wrong, but I was being a piece of shit, okay? I did it. Or I tried to do it."
    April realized that she really had no interest in Wilson's or the fact that her boy would be taken there. "Okay," she coaxed. "You were on your way to Wilson's and what happened?"
    "They pulled me over. These two cops in an unmarked car. I was over there off of Tyson Boulevard, you know, in that stretch where everything's boarded up after five?"
    It was a good half mile out of the way, but April didn't bother to ask why he was over there. Tyson's dead-ended about a block from Wilson's, and by going that way, he avoided any breathalyser traps that the cops might have laid. "I know where it is. What happened?"
    "Well, they flashed their lights at me and pulled me over, and then when they came to the window, the big one just dragged me out of the car and started beating on me. I swear to God they broke my jaw." His S's slurred into a sloppy, juicy sound, making swear sound like shwear. "When I got up, they had Justin, and they were taking him back to their car. I tried to stop them, but they just kept going. Honest to God, April, I swear I don't know why. They just came out of nowhere."
    April's brain raced to piece together the puzzle. "The police don't do this sort of thing, William."
    "Well, these did."
    "Then we need to call some more. Jesus, you haven't done that yet?"
    He shook his head. "No, I thought -"
    "William! We've got to call the police."
    "No. I don't think that's a good idea."
    There was that look again. This time it wasn't anger, but fear. As if he'd been caught at something. Suddenly, she knew he was sandbagging. He knew more than he was telling her.
    "What?" she demanded. "What's the rest of it?"
    The hurt face returned. "I don't know what you're talking about."
    "You're lying," she yelled. Suddenly, the .25 appeared in her hand, and his pretend fear became very, very real. "Tell me what happened to Justin!"
    "Jesus, April, put that away!" He tried to cover himself up with his arms and hands. "Look at me. They beat the shit out of me."
    "Then it had to be for a reason. I want to know the reason."
    "I don't know -"
    She raised the gun even higher and moved in closer, to a range where even she couldn't miss.
    "Okay, okay," he said, cowering in the La-Z-Boy. "I think they were working for Logan. Logans guys took Justin."
    Suddenly, the room seemed short of oxygen. April had to breathe hard to keep from passing out. "Why? Why of all the children in the world would Patrick Logan want my little boy?"
    "I - I d-don't know."
    "Don't lie to me!" Honest to God, she was ready to shoot him. Her finger tightened on the trigger.
    "Jesus, April! God, okay, okay, I'll tell you, you crazy bitch. God. I owe him some money."
    It just got worse and worse. "You owe Patrick Logan money? You borrowed money from that drug-peddling son of a bitch? Are you crazy?"
    "I didn't borrow money from nobody," William said, somehow inflating a little as he spoke the words, as if there were more respectable business dealings with a man who killed people for sport. "I rolled a guy last week who turned out to be one of Logan's mules. He wants the money back, and he took Justin as insurance that I'll get it for him."
    "How much?"
    "About a thousand dollars."
    April brought her hands to her head and squeezed, gun and all. "A thousand dollars! A thousand dollars? What, did you think that someone walking down the street just happened to have a thousand dollars in his pocket? You had to know it was Logan's money. Or Ortega's or somebody who runs drugs."
    William shrugged again. One more time, and April swore that she'd shoot the