The officer went back to Ryan, grasping her firmly by the bicep as he led her to the car. He placed his hand on her head to make sure she didn't hit it on the frame of the car and pushed her into the back seat. "Does it matter what my explanation is?" she demanded, her anger boiling at both Jennie and the officers.
"Nope. Tell it to the judge," he instructed as he punched the accelerator, causing her head to snap back sharply.
It took almost 45 minutes to get her processed enough to allow her a phone call. She briefly thought of calling Brendan, but knew that Jamie would be upset if she wasn't called first. One handcuff was removed to allow her to use the pay phone by the door to the lockup, but the other was firmly attached to one of the arresting officers, who listened to every word she uttered.
"Hi, Hon," she said in as normal a tone of voice as she could muster. "You'll never guess where I am."
"Well, you should be in bed," Jamie responded, "It's after nine. Where are you, anyway?"
"I'm in a holding cell at the North Oakland police station," she said neutrally. "Any chance you can come bail me out?"
The silence that greeted her indicated that Jamie was less than pleased with the news. "Ryan, I'm sure you have a very good explanation for why you've been arrested," she said calmly. "I really can't wait to hear it."
"I'm really innocent," she assured her partner as the officer rolled his eyes.
"Why are you in jail?" Jamie finally cried, tired of waiting for an explanation.
"Umm…solicitation of prostitution?" she squeaked out.
There was a terribly long pause until Jamie let out a sigh and said, "This I gotta hear."
"My three minutes are up, Hon. If you don't want me going steady with the really scary-looking woman in the lockup, you'll hurry over here."
"What's the address?" she sighed, continually amazed at the trouble that one woman could get into.
Ryan gave her all of the particulars and reminded her, "You have to bring cash or go to a bail bondsman. Can you get $1000?"
"Yes, Ryan, I can get $1000. I'll be there as soon as I can. And, Honey?"
"Yes?"
"If you drop the soap, just leave it on the floor."
"Very funny. It's nice that you can keep your sense of humor while I sit in a cell with Big Bertha."
45 minutes later Ryan was brought from the holding cell back out to the desk sergeant. Jamie was accompanied by her father, and Ryan could only think
I don't think this is the best way to make Jim start to trust me.
Jamie tossed her arms around Ryan and gave her a fierce hug. "I think Daddy has convinced them to let you go," she said softly. "Trouble just follows you, doesn't it?"
"It didn't used to," she insisted.
"What happened?" Jamie demanded.
"I went to pick Jennie up. She and her mom had a big fight, and she got thrown out again. She was with two of her friends and they hadn't had anything to eat, so I was giving them the money from your ashtray when the spotlight hit me. Of course they all ran, so I was left in your car with no I.D. and three teenaged prostitutes running down the street!"
"Jennie's not a prostitute! You'd know if she was!"
"I'm not so sure," Ryan admitted. "There's not much I'd put past her at this point."
Jim walked over and said, "They've agreed to release you, Ryan. All they really had to go on was the fact that you were in a car that wasn't registered to you and you didn't have I.D. Since they didn't catch the girls, they'd have a hard time making the solicitation charge stick."
"Thank you so much for your help," she said gratefully.
"Well, I have a lot of questions I'd like to have answered, Ryan. This whole incident is very suspicious."
"I understand that," she conceded.
"She doesn't have to defend herself, Daddy," Jamie began, automatically springing to Ryan's defense.
Ryan stopped her as she said, "Why don't you come by the house for some coffee, Jim. I'll explain everything."
Fifteen minutes later they were sitting in the kitchen listening to Ryan's tale. Luckily Mia came downstairs for a drink, and so provided corroborating testimony. Jim seemed placated after she backed Ryan up, and he stood to leave when his coffee was finished. As they walked to the door Ryan said, "I hope I don't get arrested again, but I have to go find Jennie. Otherwise, God knows where she'll end up tonight."
"I understand, Honey," Jamie agreed. "We can go in your car."
"Absolutely not!" Jim said, then immediately backed off when he saw his daughter's face. "Uhh…why don't you let me go with Ryan?" he asked carefully. "You said you needed to study."
She hesitated a little, and Ryan stepped in and said, "It's really fine if you stay, Honey. We shouldn't be gone long."
"Sure?" Jamie asked, a part of her wanting her father to spend a few moments alone with her partner in the hope that a positive shared experience could help to make up for some of the destructive episodes of the recent past.
"Positive," Ryan said, kissing her on the cheek. "Get some work done while we're gone, okay?"
Jamie walked them to the drive, where Jim said, "We'll take my car," as he walked to a full-sized sedan that he had obviously rented, since it wasn't sexy or fast.
"Hurry back," Jamie said as the pair got into the car and took off.
While they drove along, Jim turned to Ryan and asked, "Tell me more about this girl."
Ryan launched into the same spiel she had given Mia, adding some of the more explicit details just to show Jim how lucky he was to have a child like Jamie. "How does she do in school?" he asked.
"Well, that's a tough subject," she admitted. "She's very malleable, and the other kids can talk her into anything. She's been suspended three times in the year and a half I've known her. I'm about out of ideas for how to reach her. When we're together, you just couldn't ask for a sweeter kid. If she was given any love at home, she'd be fine. But she gets so angry at her mom that she does incredibly stupid things to get back at her, but of course it only hurts Jennie."
"Why is her mother so antagonistic?" he finally asked.
"Partly because Jennie is gay," Ryan informed him. "A couple of years ago her mom got religion, and since that time she's tried to force Jennie to follow her beliefs. That's hard to do with any twelve-year-old, but nearly impossible with one as headstrong as Jennie. I know that Jennie gets into a lot of situations that she wouldn't ordinarily be tempted by, but she willingly dives in just to prove that her mother doesn't control her. It's really dangerous, and it just worries me sick."
"She's lucky to have you, Ryan," he said softly, staring straight ahead.
"Thanks," she replied, "but I feel lucky to know her. She's such a bright, sweet kid, and I know she'll be fine…if she survives these tumultuous times."
They reached the neighborhood just as things were starting to heat up. Every corner was filled with kids from ages 12 and up. Some were selling drugs; most were selling their young bodies. Jim looked physically ill as he stared at the young kids struggling to survive with the only tools they knew how to use. "I…I had no idea," he murmured as they passed each little group. Ryan directed him to the side street from which she had seen the police car emerge. About a block down the street, the same car that had picked her up was waiting to be called again.
The passenger window rolled down as Jim pulled up. "Evening, officers," he said calmly. "We're just trying to find a young woman and take her to a group home. I trust we won't be disturbed?"
The officer merely nodded and rolled his window back up. "Chatty fellow," Jim laughed as they pulled away.
Ryan recognized one of the young women who had been hanging out with Jennie earlier in the evening. "Hey," she said, rolling the window down, "did Jennie come back?"
"Yeah, she's down the street about a block. Are you gonna kick her ass?"
Ryan laughed softly as she said, "No. I don't kick many asses. Did you get enough money for some food?"
"No. And I've only blown one guy all night," she said disgustedly.
"Here's forty," Ryan said, handing her the money that she had reclaimed from the police. "Why don't you call it a night?"
"Hey, thanks," the girl said. "What do you want for this? I'll go down on you," she said conversationally. Looking past Ryan to the driver, she twitched her head at Jim and added, "Or him."
"No, thanks," Ryan choked out, a deep flush traveling up her cheeks. "Just get some food."
Jim gave her a wide-eyed look as they drove away, and Ryan just shrugged her shoulders. "Most people want something from them," she said. "They actually are very suspicious of people who don't want sex. It makes them think that you'll want something worse down the line."
"What could be worse?" Jim mumbled, his hands tight on the steering wheel.
They pulled up alongside the small group that Jennie stood with, Ryan opening the car door just as her young friend caught sight of her. She turned and took off again, running as fast as she could, but Ryan was in no mood for her nonsense tonight. She took off after her like a defensive end chasing down a streaking wide receiver and grabbed onto her XX-large T-shirt with enough force to slow her down, then snaked a long arm around Jennie's slim waist and lifted her off her feet, using her momentum to toss the young girl over her shoulder. "One word and I'll spank you in front of all your friends," she threatened as she marched back to the car. She opened the back door and checked the side of the door, flicking the switch she found there before tossing Jennie into the car and dashing around to the other side to get in next to her. "I activated the baby lock on that side, Jim," she informed him. "I don't want this little hellion to sneak out at a stoplight."
Jim turned around to get a look at his passenger, and Ryan could tell that he was astounded by what he saw. Jennie was a very sweet, very young-looking fourteen-year-old. She had an angelic round face, with pink cheeks and dancing blue eyes; with her nearly bald head, when she smiled she looked like one of the adorable babies from the baby food ads. The eyebrow and ear piercings ruined the innocent look, however, appearing so incongruous on the sweet face that it did take some time to get used to her appearance. "Jim Evans, this is Jennie Willis," Ryan said.
"Good to meet you, Jennie," he said. "Where to, Ryan?"
"Our house," she said decisively.
Jennie looked up at her warily. "Why your house? Are you gonna beat me?"
"Jennie," she said softly as she placed her hand on her leg, "I've known you for 18 months. Have I ever given you reason to think I would hit you?"
"Well, no," she said slowly. "But I never got you arrested before, either."
"Good point," Ryan agreed. "But I'm not the type of person who hits. I just want to talk to you and then call your mom."
They proceeded to the house, and Ryan showed her in as Jamie ran to the door to see what had happened. "God, Ryan, I was afraid you got arrested again! What took so long?"
"My friend didn't want to be found. And when I did see her, she ran away. So it took me a few minutes to run her down and carry her back," she said with a grimace.
Jamie looked over at the blushing youngster and slipped an arm around her shoulders to escort her inside. Leaning over, she whispered, "Don't worry about it, Jen, sometimes she picks me up and carries me, too."
That got a small laugh out of Jennie and served to relieve some of the tension in the room. Jamie took her into the kitchen to get her a snack, while Ryan got on the phone and woke Jennie's none-too-happy mother.
"Hi, Mrs. Willis, it's Ryan O'Flaherty."
"Oh great," she groused, making Ryan roll her eyes. "I assume Jennie has convinced you to come to her rescue again?"
"Well, I wouldn't characterize it like that, but she is at my house."
"Aren't you the lucky one," she mumbled. "If you have any sense, you'll give her a good beating and throw her out. That child needs to learn that her actions have consequences. She wanted to stay out all night Tuesday night. Let her see what it's like on the streets. She'll change her tune."
"So you'd rather I let her go sleep on the street?"
"She'll be fine," she said curtly. "She's just got to learn."
"I can't do that, Mrs. Willis," Ryan explained. "I'll bring her home, but I won't throw her out."
"She's not welcome here, Ryan. I will not let her return here until she shows that she's matured."
"Let her stay here overnight at least, Mrs. Willis," Ryan begged. "I can't bear to take her to the Youth Authority. God knows where they'll put her at this time of night."
"You can't coddle her, Ryan," she insisted. "She'll run roughshod over you."
"Mrs. Willis, if I take her to the Youth Authority, I'll have to tell them that you threw her out," Ryan said, playing her trump card. "Do you want to have your parental rights revoked? I don't have to remind you that her social worker wouldn't hesitate to petition the court to do that."
There was a pause as the older woman considered whether or not Ryan was bluffing. Deciding not to take the risk, she snapped, "Fine. Keep her as long as you like. But don't say I didn't warn you."