Chapter Five - Part Two

THE FIRST SECTION:

David did not want to get too close to the bullies because he knew that they knew who he was. If I am to catch them at something then I must keep my distance, he thought to himself as he worked quietly from alleyway to alleyway, behind them the entire time. But when the pack got to the storehouse, he found himself unable to follow them as there was only one way to get to where the kids were going, to the back. And so he sat down on a nearby stoop and waited for them to emerge back out of the alley that they had just walked down.

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While he waited, David watched as the remaining porters hauled the last of the shipments from the remaining ships on the dock. He wondered if any of the men, the very ones he had soiled his shirt with the past ten years, were expecting to get paid that night. And if they were expecting it, would they actually get paid. As he sat there and thought about them, a feeling of peace came over him that let him know everything was going to be alright in the end. That someone would take care of Lewis if anything were to happen to him and that he would go off to a better place himself. What made him feel that way was what he called his “contribution to society”. No longer was he merely hauling packages and crates off the sides of ships, but instead he was now trying to make the world a better place by stopping those who made Marnie a more dangerous place to live. After all, he thought, I have nothing to lose now except my son and my life. I might as well help God make this a better place to live.

While David contemplated his future, the bullies came out from behind the warehouse and walked toward the meadows. David never saw them walk past and before he realized he had missed them they were well out of his sight. But he was not without luck, as the man who had been following him noticed that David had missed the boys.

The man ducked into a dark alleyway and cried out, “Well boys and girls, I am off to the meadows!”

This shout startled David from his daydream and he stood up straight and looked around him. The bullies were nowhere to be seen, but he was unsure of their whereabouts. So he took a gamble and ran down the alley that led to the rear of the storehouse and quickly saw that they had vanished. But where did they go? he asked himself as his heart raced. Good Lord David! He cursed to himself, you give yourself one shot to do this and you’ve mucked it up already. He had no idea as to where they had run off to, but then he remembered hearing that voice. The one that shouted something about the meadow. Maybe something is going on down there tonight, he muttered. It is worth a try, he said and started toward the meadow. Behind him was the man who shouted from the alley.

But when David got to the meadow he saw none of the bullies around. He walked around and peered behind a few bushes and trees to see if they were hiding somewhere and out of plain sight. Not a trace, he thought. He sighed in disappointment and gave the field one last look around before he headed home. It was then that he heard the voice of one of the bullies. His eyes shot wide open and knew where they were. On their way home.

By the time David caught up with them, he saw the girls walking away and the boys splitting up on their own as well. Their night is through, he whispered angrily at himself. They’ll all be going home now. Dejected, David walked toward Christopher’s apartment to collect Lewis for the evening. But just before he turned to go up the stairs, he remembered Christopher talking about the boys stashing something under the stairwell across the alley. He turned and looked around to see if any of the boys had lingered behind. Confident that no one was around, he sneaked over to the staircase and looked underneath.

What he saw underneath was very much a surprise to him. My God, he exclaimed, look at this stuff! Within moments David had managed to count off six silver trays, fourteen glasses, over fifty silver and gold eating utensils and a pair of fountain fixtures. There must be a thousand dollars worth of stuff here, he thought to himself. He quickly began to stuff the smaller items under his shirt and down his pants. I can come back for the rest of the stuff, he thought. The bigger stuff will be tough to pass by old Christopher and Penelope. After stuffing his pants, he buried the rest of the items and stood up to walk away.

“Good evening sir,” a voice said from just a few feet away.

“Ahh!” cried David. Two forks fell from his arm sleeve.

“What is this?” the man said as he bent over to pick up the merchandise. “This doesn’t look like something you would own does it?”

David was still trying to figure out where the man had come from all of a sudden, let alone who he was or what his excuse would be for possessing the stolen items. He nervously tried to explain, “I…I…um…keep my stuff here. To keep them safe. From…from the neighbors.”

“Stammering is not going to help you at all sir,” the man said. “I’d start talking about what you really know about this stuff. I’ve been watching you. I know you haven’t been at work the past few days. How are you eating?”

David was at a loss of words. He never expected to be followed himself. It was not as if he had actually stolen these items himself.

“I haven’t eaten. I mean,” he tried to say, “I don’t eat much. It doesn’t take much to fill me up.”

“Hmm,” the man said calmly. He moved a step closer to David. “Did you inherit this fine stuff? Is that why you haven’t been working?”

“No sir,” David faltered, “I mean yes sir. That’s it. These were my mothers. We were well off once you know. Before my father died and left us with only this.”

“And do you sell it to feed yourself…,” the man asked curiously, “and your son?”

David suddenly remembered that Lewis was still upstairs playing with Willie. He hoped he was not near a window where he could see what was going on. “Of course sir,” David said shamefully. “It has been tough on us recently.”

The man walked closer yet toward David. He was closely examining the fork that had fallen on the ground. He appeared impressed with the detail and craftsmanship; he even muttered that it would look nice in his silverware drawer at home. But then he looked at David and an evil scowl came over his face. The man shoved the prongs of the fork into David’s neck and stared into David’s eyes.

“You listen to me mister,” he threatened, “You’re going to jail. To jail for good. Maybe they’ll even hang you for this.”

David began to foam at the mouth as the tried to control breathing. He stepped back as far as he could to get away from the fork, but the man continued to force it into his skin. Eventually, David backed into a fence and could not go any further.

“What do you want?” he asked the man.

“You listen to me,” the man responded, “I’m going to talk. Not you. Do you understand me?”
David nodded and his whole body began to shake.

“See, I don’t think you are alone. I think you are working with those kids you’ve been following. Using them to do your dirty work. To sell this stuff off. We’ve been looking for this stuff. Looking for a long time. How long you been stealing?”

“Stealing?” David asked. “Not me. I’m not a thief. I haven’t stolen a thing.”

“Then what is all this stuff you’ve got here. All this stuff in your clothes and under the porch there?”

David thought for a moment and decided to be as honest as he could, mainly because he could not come up with a good enough lie, “It was there. Honest. It is not mine.”

“Not yours?” the man asked, “then whose is it?”

“I don’t know,” David stammered, “honest. I don’t know. It was there. I just found it.”

“So we got a thief in Marnie do we then?” The man lifted the fork from David’s neck and watched David slink down to the ground. The man kneeled down to David’s level and jabbed him several times in the side and arms, laughing at the same time. “You going to tell me who then?”

“I don’t know. Honest. I just don’t know.”

“You going to make me find out?”

“I can’t help you,” David insisted.

The man looked around him and threw the fork into the ground. “I’d bring you in right now if I had the time,” he said. “But I’ll get someone to come and see you soon, so don’t go anywhere. You understand me?”

David nodded. The man stood up and threw the fork under the porch. He ordered David to put the rest of the stuff under the porch as well and to not go back to that spot again. “If I see you there, you are a dead man,” he said and then walked off.

After the man was out of sight, David removed the items from his body and tucked them back under the staircase just the way they were before he removed them. He then went to collect Lewis.