I shook my head and moved on to the next plant.
“Fine.”
Spray. Spray.
“But what the hell do you expect me to do? She’s not interested. Plus, she’s dating my boss. So does it even matter if she’s a walking wet dream who could make me smile for an entire weekend without having sex? Or that I can still smell her perfume right now even though I haven’t been near her in two days? Or that I can remember the taste of her from every kiss we’ve shared?”
Spray. Spray.
“I’ll tell you the answer. No. It doesn’t fucking matter.”
Even if there were a hundred reasons I couldn’t get her out of my mind, she was dating my boss. That alone had to tip the scale to the stay-the-hell-away side, clearly outweighing all the reasons to call her. I just needed to get my mind off of her for a while. That’s all.
So I finished watering my plants in silence, got a cold beer from the fridge, and sat down on the couch to scroll through the movie choices on Netflix. But as I watched the preview for some movie that seemed like it should’ve been titled Ocean’s Nine Hundred and Ninety or Whatever, my cell vibrated in my pocket. I briefly considered ignoring it, but the workaholic in me couldn’t let it go to voicemail. So I dug it out and swiped to answer a number I didn’t recognize as I brought my beer to my lips. “Donovan Decker.”
“Hi, ummm… It’s Autumn. I’m sorry to bother you.”
I immediately sat up and planted the beer on the coffee table. Something was wrong. I could hear the stress in her voice. “What happened?”
“It’s Storm. He ran away.”
I raked a hand through my hair. Shit. One of the terms of his release was that he had to remain under the direct care and control of Social Services. “How long has he been gone?”
“Since about four o’clock this afternoon. Today is his birthday. The last time he spoke to his mother, she promised she’d visit him on his birthday. She never showed up. Visiting hours ended at 3:30, and when the residence manager went to check on him, she found a broken window and Augustus was gone. They know they’re required to call the Probation Department if anything like this happens, but I’m friends with Lita, the manager there, so she called me first. I asked her if I could call it in… But that was five hours ago, and I never did. I didn’t know who else to call. Can I get him in more trouble if I continue to hold off on calling?”
“You can get yourself in trouble. As his social worker, you have a legal duty to act.”
“I don’t care about that, but…” She paused, and I heard a knock in the background. “I’m sorry. Can you hang on a second?”
“Yeah.”
I listened to muffled voices. The man’s voice got loud, and I thought he said, “It’s just five damn dollars.” The hairs on the back of my neck stood up.
“Autumn?” I yelled into the phone.
She came back on after a few seconds. “Sorry—where was I?”
“Forget where you were with your story. Where are you right now?”
“I’m in a parking lot. I think I’m on Delaney Street or maybe it was Delancey. I don’t remember what I turned on.”
I walked to the closet to get my shoes. “You’re in Storm’s neighborhood?”
“Yeah. I’ve been looking for him the last few hours.”
“Are you in a car?”
“Yes.”
“Did someone just knock on your window and ask for money?”
“Yeah. I pulled into an empty lot to call you, and I didn’t notice anyone. I think maybe some homeless people might be living here.”
I shook my head as I grabbed my keys and wallet from the counter. “If you’re on Delaney, you’re about eight blocks from the seventy-fifth precinct, where he was held the other night. It’s on the corner of Sutter and Essex. Punch that into your GPS and go. I’ll meet you in the parking lot of the station. Don’t roll down your window to answer anyone, and keep your doors locked.”
“Are we going to ask the police for help finding Storm?”
“Something like that. I’ll be there as soon as I can. Once you get to the police station, just sit in your car. Don’t go in without me.”
“Okay.”
***
Autumn jumped when I knocked on her window. She looked relieved when she realized it was me, and she pressed the button to roll it down.
“Do you mind if we take your car?” I said.
“No, that’s fine. But where are we going?”
“To find Storm.”
“I thought we were going to ask the police for help?”
“No, this was just the safest place I knew of to put you until I could get here.”
“Oh…”
I walked around the car and got into the passenger seat. Autumn looked around the parking lot. “Is that your car over there?” She pointed.