Another hesitation at the other end, and then, "Okay, what time would you like to meet?"

Joshua, even more shaken by Alfred's willingness, answered, "How about three o'clock, after school?"

"That sounds okay. I'll come to your apartment at three."

"One more thing."

"Yes?"

"This is just between you and me, okay?"

"Yes, that's fine."

When he hung up, Joshua couldn't make heads nor tails of what had just happened. He was glad this part was over, but knew the worst was yet to come. He wasn't sure what to expect of Alfred Sims, the man he now believed to be his father. But he was convinced that if there was any hope of finding Celeste, Alfred was it.

The doorbell rang a few minutes after three. Joshua opened the door, and Alfred entered the apartment, acting as if it were his first time there.

Joshua showed Alfred to the living room, and they sat down.

Alfred looked at his watch, then at Joshua. "Well, what can I do for you?"

"You want a drink or something?" Awkward.

"That's okay," Alfred answered, glancing at his watch again, "I don't have too much time."

"So I guess I'll just get to the point."

Alfred waited.

"I don't know if Mama told you yet, but I have a job."

"Yes, she mentioned it just this morning. Congratulations."

Joshua wanted to just come out with it, and ask for the money, but he couldn't. "Yeah, guess it's a good thing, keeps me out of trouble."

"I think it's a great thing."

Gee, thanks, Pop, you can't imagine how much your approval means to me.

"The reason I wanted to talk to you is because I need some money, and I didn't know where else to go."

Alfred appeared curious.

"I'll pay you back, every cent plus interest, with the money from my job." Please, say something!

"How much do you need?"

"A lot."

"And exactly how much is that?"

Joshua hesitated. "Maybe this isn't a good idea." He rose from the couch and began pacing.

"Look Joshua, I can't give you an answer until I know how much money you're talking about."

Joshua stopped pacing, looked at Alfred, and asked, "Why are you here, anyway?"

"What do you mean?"

"I mean, why did you come here today? Why did you help me with the police? Why did you get me that lawyer? Why do you do these things?"

"Because your mother works for me and my wife, and I like her very much." Defensive. "We think of her as family, you too."

There were many things running through Joshua's mind, but he needed to stay focused on Celeste. "I need twenty-five hundred dollars," he said, matter-of-factly, figuring he could still save his own five hundred for a "rainy day."

"Yes, that is a lot of money." Pensive. "What do you need it for?"

Having antic.i.p.ated the question, Joshua had also decided to answer truthfully, hoping to appeal to Alfred's sense of decency. He told the story about Celeste and Big Bob, as Alfred stared in disbelief. Joshua thought he even saw concern in Alfred's eyes.

Alfred thought for a moment, then said, "It seems this young lady has been the source of all the trouble you've been getting yourself into."

"I guess you could put it that way."

"And what do you think your mother would do if she ever found out that I helped you to continue your relationship with this girl?"

"This ain't about me and Celeste; it's about Celeste only, and helping her. We aren't together anymore."

"Are you sure of that?"

Joshua waited a beat. "Yeah."

"How can you be sure this Big Bob character will keep his word and tell you where she is? And even if he does, how do you know she'll come home with you once you find her? It doesn't sound like she's exactly been kidnapped."

Alfred was a businessman to the end, covering all bases, making sure his investment would be prudent. Joshua a.s.sured him that Big Bob, also a businessman, always delivered for the right price. "That's what Big Bob wants folks to think. If he went back on his word, people would hear and n.o.body would trust him no more."

Joshua spoke in the language Alfred understood. As for the question about Celeste's cooperation, he had no response, for he too wasn't convinced.

"Okay, Joshua, I'll give you the money. But on two conditions." He looked at Joshua closely, scrutinizing the boy's reaction.

Joshua was impa.s.sive, waiting to hear the conditions.

"First," Alfred continued, "you have to promise me that after you find this girl, whether you get her home or not, you'll forget about her. She's brought you nothing but trouble, and you can't spend the rest of your life making good for what happened to her father. Second, this money will be regarded by you as a gift, not a loan. I want you to save the money you earn. One day you'll use it for school or something. I don't need it."

Joshua smiled, he didn't have a problem with either condition. He knew there could never be a future with Celeste anyway, and the idea of not having to pay back the money suited him just fine. He also knew that the only reason Alfred was helping was guilt, a motive with which he himself was well acquainted.

Like father, like son.

To Joshua's surprise, it was one of the better apartment buildings in Bed-Stuy; red-brick, five stories, graffiti-free, windows intact, front door-lock and buzzer system operational. As he stood in the entrance, about to press the buzzer for apartment 5-K, it occurred to him that he should have expected no less. Big Bob lured his girls with promises of comfort and riches. It made sense that he would treat them well, at least at the start. Then, once they became dependent upon him and his "free" drugs, he would put them on the streets to earn their keep.

Joshua's only hope was that Celeste had not yet fallen too deeply into the trap. Big Bob was a fast mover, and Celeste was vulnerable. He didn't know what to expect.

Big Bob had gladly taken the money, seeming nonchalant about losing one of his girls, almost as if he was certain that Celeste would stay put. Joshua wondered about this, and understood that there were no "money-back guarantees." He had one shot, and if he couldn't convince Celeste to come with him, it would be good-bye to both her and the money.

The voice on the intercom asked who it was.

"Sunshine," Joshua responded, using the pa.s.sword Big Bob had given him, knowing that in a few hours it would change.

The door buzzed, Joshua pushed and entered. He took the elevator to the top floor, found apartment 5-K, and pressed another buzzer. Next thing he knew, he was face to face with Celeste.

Her expression lacked surprise, making him wonder if Big Bob had told her he would be coming. She held the door, stepped aside, and let him in without an utterance. He looked at her and realized she was on something.

He surveyed the apartment with his eyes, turned to her, and said, "I've come to take you home."

She was unresponsive.

He wondered if she'd heard him. "Where are your things?" he asked.

Still no reply.

He grabbed her arms, looked in her eyes, and said, "I am taking you home. Now!"

Tears suddenly formed in her eyes. She broke free and sobbed, "No, you can't! You Can't!"

He reached for her again. She held her hand up to ward him off, and continued crying.

"I'm sorry," he said softly.

"You did nothing to be sorry for," she replied, looking away.

"But I did. I killed your..."

"You didn't kill no one! At least no one that didn't deserve killing. You did me a favor."

"Look, we gotta go. Now!"

"Where do you think we're gonna go?"

"Home."

"I don't have a home."

"Yes you do." He moved closer to her, and wiped her tears with his hand.

They embraced.

"Come," he said, "we got to get moving."

"I can't."

He stepped back and looked at her. "What do you mean, you can't?"

"Just what I'm saying. I can't go! Don't you see, I can't go back to my Mama and Jerome. There's nothing for me there. My Mama never did anything to help me. She just let him do what he wanted. She never said nothing! Acted like she didn't know what was going on. But she knew all right. She knew everything. And Jerome, he ain't no better. h.e.l.l, he was in the room, in the next bed, always pretending he was asleep. He never did nothing either."

"But they do love you, and I know they're worried sick over you. They probably were afraid and didn't know what to do. You know your Daddy was real big, and real angry. What could they do?" He hoped she would see his point, even though he wasn't convinced himself.

"That's bull. You did something; you're the only one who ever did anything. Don't go making excuses for them!"

"What I did wasn't right."

"It sure was right. You stopped him, and now I never have to worry about him again."

"I could have done other things to stop him, but now's not the time to talk about any of that."

"And Jerome and Mama could have done something, but they didn't. It don't bother me if I never see them again. I ain't going!"

"So what are you gonna do, stay here with Big Bob and become one of his girls? You know what they do for him?"

"He don't treat me like that. He treats me good, takes care of me mighty fine, not like my daddy."

"How? By giving you drugs!"

"He's giving me a nice place to live, and he don't make me take drugs, he just offers me a little something now and then, makes me feel good. What's wrong with that?"

"And you think he's doing all this for free? Don't you see, it starts off as 'a nice place to live,' and 'a little something now and then,' and soon it becomes a lot of something, all the time, and you're gonna have to work to pay for it."

"That's what you say!"

"What I know! What I've seen!"

"Well you're wrong, and I wouldn't go back to Mama and Jerome even if you were right."

"Then just come with me, we'll go somewhere else."

"And where's that?"

"You'll stay with me and Mama for a few days, we'll figure something out." Not very convincing, he had to admit.

"You think your mama's gonna let me stay with you?"

"Don't you worry about it; I'll take care of it."

"Yeah, say you do; then what? I'm gonna stay with you forever?"

There had been a time when he would have said yes to that, but "forever" was no longer in the cards for them. "I don't know," he said, "but there's got to be some place better than here."

"It's not so bad here; you just think it is. Big Bob's been good to me, he says I'm special, he's gonna take care of me."

The next thing Joshua knew, tears were flowing from his eyes. He couldn't recall the last time he'd actually cried.