Roy looked down at the file he was holding documenting Alisha’s background. Roy had seen enough while at CJA that teenage mothers did not really surprise him, though he also knew that a child raising a child was never a good thing. Yet it was far better than leaving the little boy in a Dumpster. He had to admire Alisha Rogers for taking that responsibility when some others didn’t.

Non said, “I’m gonna leave you folks to it. Alisha, you need anything I’ll be down in the laundry room.”

“Thanks, Non,” Alisha said, her gaze on the floor as the boy stared at Mace and Roy openmouthed.

Mace stepped forward. “Alisha, I’m Mace and this is Roy. We met with Carmela this morning.”

Gaze still on the floor, Alisha said, “Carmela’s nice.”

“And she was very excited about us meeting with you.”

“That’s a good-looking boy you have there,” said Roy. “What’s his name?”

“Tyler,” she answered. She lifted one of her son’s pudgy fists and did a small wave. When she let go, however, Tyler let his arm drop limply to his side and continued to stare at them, his mouth forming a big O.

“You want to sit down while we talk?” said Mace. “Tyler looks like a load.”

While Roy and Mace sat on a small battered sofa with trash-bag-covered foam, Alisha put Tyler down on the floor and sat cross-legged next to him. She snagged a toy out of the Deer Park box and handed it to him.

“You play, Ty, Momma’s got to talk to these people.”

Tyler plopped down on the floor and obediently started playing with the spaceman action figure from Toy Story that was missing an arm and a leg.

Alisha looked up. “Carmela say you folks got something for me.”

“To be part of a study,” said Mace.

Alisha didn’t look happy about this. “I thought it gonna be a job. A real job, you know, with child care and some health benefits.”

“No, that’s right. The study does have a money and training component.”

“How ’bout school?”

“And an education component too. That’s considered critical, in fact.”

“Ain’t got my GED. Dropped out to have Tyler. Went back but couldn’t make it work.”

“We can help with that. You still want to get your GED?” asked Mace.

“Got to if I want to get out of here. Here’s just drugs or Mickey D’s if I ain’t got no school. Can’t take care of Ty good.” She reached out and stroked Tyler’s wiry hair.

As Mace looked at the little boy’s face it struck her that she recognized his features, but couldn’t remember from where. “Let’s go over the details and we’ll see if it’s something you’re interested in.”

“I’m interested in anything that’ll get us outta here.”

“You and Tyler, you mean.”

“And my brother.”

“Your brother?” Mace said questioningly. That had not been in the report.

“He just got back.”

“From where?”

“Prison.”

“Okay. How about Tyler’s dad?”

She hesitated, her gaze darting to the floor.

Mace had seen that same maneuver a million times. The lady was about to lie.

“Dead probably. I don’t know. He ain’t here, that’s all.”

“How about your parents?” asked Roy.

“My daddy’s dead. He sold heroin on the corner a block over from here. My momma left me with my grandma.”

“Why did your mother leave you?” Roy asked.

“Had to. She in prison for killing my daddy.”

“Oh,” said Roy.

“Ain’t like he didn’t deserve it,” she said defensively. “He beat her bad all the time.”

“And your grandmother?” asked Mace.

Alisha’s big eyes became watery. “Drive-by. She just walking down the street with her groceries and got caught between two damn crews. But she got to see Ty born. He got to see his great-grandma.”

“That’s pretty rare,” said Roy. “Four generations.”

“She was only forty-nine when she got killed. My momma was thirteen too when she had me.”

Mace was about to ask another question when the door to the apartment opened. When Mace saw who it was she realized where she’d seen Tyler’s facial features before.

“What the hell you doing here, bitch?” the man at the door screamed.

Darren Rogers, a.k.a. Razor, the guy Mace had pepper-sprayed, stood in the doorway. A moment later the “crappy” semi-auto pistol was pointed right at her face.

CHAPTER 59

WHAT THE HELL you doing, Darren?” said Alisha as she jumped to her feet.

He pointed at Mace. “This the bitch what sprayed that shit in my eyes last night. I told you ’bout her.”

“Well, in all fairness, I wouldn’t have if you weren’t pointing a gun at me.”

Alisha stared at him. “Did you do that?”

“Hell no. The bitch just shot me with the shit while I was walking by. I never pulled no gun on her ass till right now.”

Mace turned to Alisha. “He’s also got a.22 caliber revolver in a left ankle holster. And his street name is Razor ’cause, as he told me, he’s so sharp.”

Alisha put her hands on her hips and scowled at Darren. “How she know all that if you just walking by and ain’t pulled your damn gun?”

Darren’s face screwed up in frustration. “How I supposed to know that?”

Mace turned to Alisha. “Is he your brother?”

“Hey, you talk to me,” snapped Darren.

“Okay, are you her brother?”

“Yeah, so what?”

“What were you in prison for?”

“Who told you I was in prison?” Darren glanced darkly at his sister.

She said, “Darren, put that gun away before somebody gets hurt. Look at Ty, he’s scared to death.”

Unnoticed for the last couple of minutes, Tyler had crawled into a corner and tears were dribbling down his chubby cheeks. He was holding up his spaceman, apparently as a shield. Darren’s hostile look instantly melted away. “Ah hell, Ty, I’m sorry, little man.” He put the gun in his jacket pocket and hustled over to pick up the child. He held his cheek against Tyler’s and talked softly to the little boy.

“He’s not crying,” said Roy curiously.

Alisha started to answer but Darren beat her to it. “He ain’t crying, ’cause he can’t talk. Can’t make no sounds or nothing.”

Mace looked at Alisha. “Have you had him checked out?”

Tears again filled Alisha’s eyes. “It was ’cause I doing drugs. Ain’t even know I was pregnant. Doctors say that messed up something in Ty’s head.”

“I’m sorry,” said Mace.

Alisha rubbed her eyes. “My damn fault for getting pregnant.”

“You got raped, Alisha,” snapped Darren. “This ain’t nothing you did.”

“Raped? Did they catch who did it?” asked Roy.

Darren eyed his sister and then looked away in disgust.

“Alisha?” said Mace. “Did you report the rape?”

She shook her head.

“Why not?”

Darren spoke up. “’Cause the dude what raped her is named Psycho. He got the biggest crew around here. You go to the cops on him, you be dead. That’s why!”

Mace sat back. “I know about Psycho. The guy’s been running his drug and gun op for nearly ten years. That’s a lifetime in that line of work. You’ve got to be real smart and even more dangerous to last that long.”

“But the police can protect you,” said Roy. He glanced at Mace. “Can’t they?”

Darren laughed. “Oh yeah. Sure they can. See, last time the police protected somebody ’round here against Psycho they found his head in a trash bag floating in the Anacostia with a sock stuffed in the mouth. They ain’t never found the rest of him. That’s some damn fine protection, now ain’t it?”

Darren put Tyler down on the floor. “So you tell me what the hell you doing here?”

“How about a chance to get out of here,” said Mace.

“Outta here how?”

“I’m working on a project with a professor from Georgetown.”

“Georgetown! What the hell that got to do with us?”

“I can explain it to you.”

Darren looked like he was about to start shouting again, but then he sat down and motioned at her. “Go on then. Tell me.”