Todd swallowed hard. “Please stay.”
“All right.” He released his hug, found the number he needed in his phone, and made the call. It took a little bit to get through to Carter, but once he did, he explained what was happening and asked for his help.
“Did you call the non-emergency number?” Carter asked.
“No. I got you directly. Because Donald helped him, he’s willing to talk to you… sort of trust by association,” Jamie explained.
“All right. I’ll come over and see what I can do.” He ended the call, and Jamie went to the kitchen. He got a few snacks as well as a pot of coffee on, getting it ready. Kenny settled on the floor near the bowl of chips on the coffee table, and Jamie got him a glass of milk. When the doorbell sounded, Jamie got up to answer it, feeling Todd tense.
“Thanks for coming,” he told Carter. “You met Todd and Kenny the last time you were here.”
“Yes,” Todd said softly. “Thank you for being here.”
Carter sat in the chair, and Jamie poured him a cup of coffee. “What is it I can help with?”
“It’s a man named Charlie,” Jamie began.
“He and his group live mainly in the back of Seven Gables Park.”
Carter nodded. “Yes. We are well aware of him. He’s well-known to law enforcement. What issue are you having?”
“He keeps coming here, and, well… he has a thing for Kenny. He keeps calling him ‘his boy’ and trying to see him. He showed up while Kenny was playing in the backyard and just tonight when we got home. I know he’s dangerous and maybe crazy.”
Carter took notes. “Has he made any specific threats?”
“No,” Todd said, his shoulders slumping.
“Today, I told him he was to keep off my property. If he comes back….”
Carter nodded. “We can get him for trespassing. It isn’t much, but it’s enough for us to take him in. Also, if he threatens any of you.”
“But he’s making a threat every time he comes here. It’s like he can do whatever he wants, and no one can stop him,” Todd said, his voice filled with frustration. “I just want him to go away and leave me alone. For a while, Kenny and I were in the same park he was in, and he tried to lure Kenny away from me. That’swhy he keeps coming around. Charlie has this weird obsession that Kenny is his. Kenny’s scared of him, and so am I. I don’t want Kenny to go to the park, because what if he’s there? Every time I step out of the house, I wonder if he’s going to be there.” Todd sat back down. “Thanks to Jamie here, I’m trying to get my life back… our lives back. I have a chance to get a job, and maybe I can find a place of my own. There are so many pieces that I’m trying to put together, but he just won’t go away.”
Kenny got up and hurried to Todd, climbing onto his lap, trying to offer comfort.
“You can see the issue. I was hoping that you might offer some advice for us. I want to help keep Todd and Kenny safe, but I feel like I can’t if this guy is around.”
Carter made notes and then slid the pad in his pocket. “A couple things. I’d get a camera doorbell and maybe put in a few other cameras around the outside of the house. You can get them on the internet, and they interface with your phone. Then you can see what’s happening when you’re not around. Secondly, call if he comes around once more. Like I said, we can take him in, run him through the system, and maybe we’ll get a hit. If we do, then he can be extradited and no more problem.”
“So do we lure him here?”
Carter shook his head. “Do not contact him or confront him. If this guy is crazy, he’ll show up again, and when he does, call us. We’ll take it from there.” Carter stood. “Thank you for bringing this to our attention. I’ll get a report entered into the system, and then if anything happens, there will be a record to look back at. That will beef up your claim and make it easier for us to deal with him.” Carter shook hands with both of them and left.
“I wish he had more he could do for us.”
“No. What he said makes sense. There’s no crime in being poor or homeless. And I suppose they have to wait until Charlieactually does something wrong. I just wish they could take him away.”
“They will once they have a case. Now, in the meantime, I got these chips and stuff, so we may as well eat them and watch something fun.”
ChapterSix
It hadbeen a day with highs—he’d received a response from a huge national company about a job in their warehouse and had an interview appointment—and lows—he had been out for a walk with Kenny, and they’d had to avoid Charlie yet again. But it was quiet now. Bath time was over, and Todd had tucked Kenny into bed with his penguin and Cindy guarding his dreams. Todd wandered through the dining room, past where Jamie was scowling at his computer screen. “What did that ever do to you?”
“We’re supposed to use the college system for tracking exams and reporting results. But I don’t trust it.”
Todd nodded slowly. “You said you thought it had been compromised.”
“Yeah. But the rules haven’t changed, and I’m afraid to put my materials out there. I was hoping they would see my concerns and give us an option, but they aren’t.” He pointed to a message from the dean’s office.
