Date: Sat, 29 Sep 2001 05:26:33 +0000 From: Darren Talbot Subject: gay male/ adult youth/ the library, chapter nine the library chapter 9 *again, thank you for all the encouragement and support. *all cautionary notes regarding the legality of this story and the fictionality of it's contents are applicable. ____________________________________ My watch read twelve fifteen as I stepped into James' office. The plaque on the door said "J. Jarvis, Detective". "Hell, Daniel? Daniel Walcott? Jesus, it's been a long time!" He exclaimed, grunting a bit to pull his bulk from the chair. He extended his beefy hand across the desk. I extended my own and clasped his. We shook hands, then he motioned at the chair across from him. A picture of his wife and his son, away at college, were on his desk. His wife, Clara, was in my shop all the time, and his boy had come in more than once when he was home on summers. A family of readers, James had been in more than once, himself. "What can I do you for?" He asked, grinning his big Texas grin and sitting with a loud grunt. The chair protested his weight some. His son had inherited mostly his mothers qualities, from what I could tell, being tall and graceful. James was an extremely likeable two hundred and fifty pounds. Always smiling, though. "Well, umm. Jesus, James, I don't even know where to begin. I'm in a mess." "It's not Ron, is it?" He asked. He'd had to pull strings more than once to get my ex out of jail when the Heroin started running his life instead of his heart. "No. No," I said, looking at the open door. "Oh!" He said, getting up again to close it, then sitting once more. "Alright, go." he said. "It's about a boy." I said. "Getting yourself involved with the college kids, Daniel? I thought you liked to play the housewife." He said. A good man, but a little to masculine to understand some things, like how offensive his humor could be if it came from anyone else. "This is worse, James. Much worse. If I give you a name, can you pull up the file on that person?" I asked. His face grew stern and he cocked his head to the side a bit, "Now you know better than that, Daniel." "This is a real mess, James. Can you just listen for a second?," I asked, and when he nodded, "I don't know how it happened, James, and I realize I'm in a lot of trouble that it did, but at the moment, it's not as important as making sure that something else doesn't happen." I blurted out. He held up a hand, "Whoa, big fella. Howsabout you slow that down some." "Josh Taylor." I said, and his eyes grew together some. "What about him?" He asked. "So you do know him?" I asked in return. "Daniel, you saying that name...you even knowing that name is bad bad news. Why don't you just tell your story and then we'll see about this." He said. "I met Josh Taylor about four days ago, and we've gotten close," I said, looking up to gauge his reaction...it didn't take much to see that he was now extremely concerned, but I continued,"And some things that shouldn't have happened happened, but like I said, I'll deal with that. But he's told me about something. Something horrible that's going on, and I've got to see if I can find a way to stop it." James took in a deep breath, looking down at the desk. Then back up at me, "How bad?" He asked. Without asking, I knew what he meant "I've never felt like this before about anyone." I replied. He let his hands hit the table hard, and looked away. Then he rubbed one hand across his military short hair, "My god, Daniel. Do you realize what you've just told me?" He asked. "Yes. Yes I do. But this isn't the thing that I needed to tell you about." "What did you need to tell me, then, that he's been hustling?" James said, casually. I could feel my jaw hit the floor. "Yeah, I know he does it. And every time we catch him, we haul him in." James said, after a long pause. "Then why don't you stop him?" I asked, overexcited. "How would you propose we do that? He's still a minor, Daniel. he spends a night in jail and we have to let him go again when his father comes and picks him up." "You don't press charges against his father?" "We've investigated his father so many times that he's practically just given us a key to his place, Daniel. Nothing. Each time, nothing. The kids are well behaved and doing well in school, and he has a good job." "A job? Josh said his father didn't have a job." James moved over a bit and typed something into his keyboard, then waited, "Taylor, Rigman James. He's employed by an offshore refining company. That's checked out every single time we've investigated it, Dan." He only called me Dan when he felt superior. I was taken aback completely. Had Josh lied? How could I believe him when his father had been investigated so many times? But how could I love him and doubt his word? I was confused to say the least. "And, mind you, neither of the boys has ever brought a report to us or thier teachers of anything out of the ordinary. But the Talyor boy keeps getting caught sucking old men off in bathroom stalls, and we keep catching him with lots of money in his pockets." For some reason, when he said that, my morbid brain not only pictured it, but wondered how much money he got paid. I nearly slapped myself for that. I guessed that I really was a monster. "So, Daniel. How does a nice guy like you get mixed up with a kid like this?" James asked, "Or, with a kid at all, Dan. Come on. You have to end this. You have to end this, now." "I told you. It just kind of happened. So, you're not going to do anything?" "Why would I, Dan, you're an okay guy, I don't see any reason to bust you for..." "I mean about Josh. About his father." "No, Dan. There's really nothing I can do unless they bring charges themselves. And I'll tell you, this kid is a prostitute already, Dan, with no telling where it's going to go after that. Do you know what happens to most boys who start doing it that young?" James said. "I have to go." I said, standing. "Okay, Dan." he said, standing and extending his hand. When I took it, he grabbed mine hard and wouldn't let go, "But a small piece of advice, my friend. Drop him. Let him go. Because if I catch you with him, I have to bust you, too, and he'll be back out on the street looking for his next John, while you're in my prison waiting sentencing, okay?" I nodded, numbly and walked out the door. I had walked to the station; nothing in this town is far enough to really need a car for. I had one, of course, but it would have taken more time to start it up and get it out onto the street than just to walk here. As I walked back to the shop, I kept thinking about what James had said. What if Josh were lying? Why would he lie, though? And, if what I was feeling was really love, then how could I justify not trusting him? My watch read quarter to one as I reached the door to my shop. I'd left Josh here, and, through the window, I could see him sitting on the counter, a book open infront of him, his feet curled under him Indian style. He looked up just then, and saw me standing there. He waved, and I walked in. The bell sounding supernaturally loud to my ears. I reached up to silence it, "Hi." "Hi." he said, managing a little smile, "I just wanted to say thank you for helping, Daniel. I love you so much." and he reached out toward me with his arms and his legs, both, wanting to wrap around me. As I let go of the bell and walked toward him, I touched his knees instead, lowing his legs and put my hands on his elbows, pushing them gently back down. My chest started to ache when his face fell. "We have to talk." I said, and the tears leapt to my eyes. His, too.