sheets of cardboard,in nests of rags and newspapers and plastic bags. I hid my face in the darkness of my cocoon to escape the bitter wind that blew dirt and newspapers in circles around us. Our faces and hands and hair were caked with soot and dirt.
The wind slowed to a breeze in the morning. I poked my head out from under my covers. Sometime during the night Maggot showed up and was now sharing the orange sleeping bag with Rainbow. They lay with their backs to each other. He was reading a newspaper. Jewel was nestled in a large pile of plastic bags and newspapers and rags.
I had my arms around Pest so that only his head stuck out. The little dog felt warm, and with his brown head so close, my nose was filled with his dog smell. Burning gurgles in my stomach reminded me that it was empty, but it was too cold to get up and go to the church for breakfast or beg for money.
Pest barked. I saw OG hurrying across the road during a break in the traffic. In one hand he carried a dirty green plastic pail with a squeegee sticking out of it. Pest squirmed out of my arms and ran toward him. OG had tied a rope around Pest’s neck to keep him from running in front of the cars, but Pest was too young and dumb to understand. He ran until the rope got taut and snapped him back. Then he pulled at it, crying and barking.
OG dropped the bucket. It tipped over and the squeegee fell out, followed by a small puddle of brownish slush. “Hey, Pest.” He picked up his puppy and gavehim a hug. Pest happily licked OG’s dirty face, his tail wagging like crazy.
Maggot looked up from the newspaper. “Get any money?”
OG shook his head. “Water started to freeze.”
“Anyone heard from 2Moro?” Jewel asked.
“Probably hooked up with a sugar daddy,” Rainbow said with a yawn.
“I heard a bunch of kids went down to Mardi Gras,” added OG. “Maybe she went, too.”
“She would have told me,” Jewel said. He sat up in his jumble of rags and newspapers, his jaw covered with dark stubble, his cornrows loose and ratty, sprouting tufts of brown hair. He started to rock back and forth, staring at the greenish brown river. The rest of us stayed huddled in our nests.
No one did much of anything except try to stay warm. Maggot flattened out the crumpled sheets of newspaper that made up our bedding and read through them. After a while he tore off a corner of the newspaper and nudged Rainbow. She read it.
I heard Maggot whisper, “It’s her.”
“What’s it say?” I asked softly.
Maggot and Rainbow traded a look. Maggot shrugged. Rainbow motioned for me to crawl close to her. She put her lips right next to my ear and read in a whisper: “The headline says, Teenage Girl’s Body Found in Park. The body of an unidentified female teenager was found yesterday in a wooded area near theFDR Drive. A jogger reported the discovery to the police, who said the body was naked from the waist down and wearing a red-and-orange patchwork jacket.’”
I twisted my head around until my eyes met Rainbow’s. She pressed a finger to her cracked lips and pointed at Jewel, who sat rocking nearby. Then she started to read again, “‘The cause of death could not be determined, although police said it appeared she had been strangled. The body was sent to the Medical Examiner. Police described the victim as Hispanic, between the ages of fourteen and eighteen, medium height, slim, with short dyed red hair and a black tattoo around her neck.’”
It had to be 2Moro. The jacket, the hair, the tattoo. I looked at Rainbow again. She nodded sadly like she agreed with what I was thinking. Maggot was already reading another page of newspaper. I looked at Jewel, rocking back and forth, muttering to himself.
“Don’t say nothing,” Rainbow whispered in my ear. “It’s too late now.”
The breeze blew a speck of grit into my eye, and I retreated into the darkness of my nest, blinking to make it go away. My stomach ached something awful. I thought about
The wind slowed to a breeze in the morning. I poked my head out from under my covers. Sometime during the night Maggot showed up and was now sharing the orange sleeping bag with Rainbow. They lay with their backs to each other. He was reading a newspaper. Jewel was nestled in a large pile of plastic bags and newspapers and rags.
I had my arms around Pest so that only his head stuck out. The little dog felt warm, and with his brown head so close, my nose was filled with his dog smell. Burning gurgles in my stomach reminded me that it was empty, but it was too cold to get up and go to the church for breakfast or beg for money.
Pest barked. I saw OG hurrying across the road during a break in the traffic. In one hand he carried a dirty green plastic pail with a squeegee sticking out of it. Pest squirmed out of my arms and ran toward him. OG had tied a rope around Pest’s neck to keep him from running in front of the cars, but Pest was too young and dumb to understand. He ran until the rope got taut and snapped him back. Then he pulled at it, crying and barking.
OG dropped the bucket. It tipped over and the squeegee fell out, followed by a small puddle of brownish slush. “Hey, Pest.” He picked up his puppy and gavehim a hug. Pest happily licked OG’s dirty face, his tail wagging like crazy.
Maggot looked up from the newspaper. “Get any money?”
OG shook his head. “Water started to freeze.”
“Anyone heard from 2Moro?” Jewel asked.
“Probably hooked up with a sugar daddy,” Rainbow said with a yawn.
“I heard a bunch of kids went down to Mardi Gras,” added OG. “Maybe she went, too.”
“She would have told me,” Jewel said. He sat up in his jumble of rags and newspapers, his jaw covered with dark stubble, his cornrows loose and ratty, sprouting tufts of brown hair. He started to rock back and forth, staring at the greenish brown river. The rest of us stayed huddled in our nests.
No one did much of anything except try to stay warm. Maggot flattened out the crumpled sheets of newspaper that made up our bedding and read through them. After a while he tore off a corner of the newspaper and nudged Rainbow. She read it.
I heard Maggot whisper, “It’s her.”
“What’s it say?” I asked softly.
Maggot and Rainbow traded a look. Maggot shrugged. Rainbow motioned for me to crawl close to her. She put her lips right next to my ear and read in a whisper: “The headline says, Teenage Girl’s Body Found in Park. The body of an unidentified female teenager was found yesterday in a wooded area near theFDR Drive. A jogger reported the discovery to the police, who said the body was naked from the waist down and wearing a red-and-orange patchwork jacket.’”
I twisted my head around until my eyes met Rainbow’s. She pressed a finger to her cracked lips and pointed at Jewel, who sat rocking nearby. Then she started to read again, “‘The cause of death could not be determined, although police said it appeared she had been strangled. The body was sent to the Medical Examiner. Police described the victim as Hispanic, between the ages of fourteen and eighteen, medium height, slim, with short dyed red hair and a black tattoo around her neck.’”
It had to be 2Moro. The jacket, the hair, the tattoo. I looked at Rainbow again. She nodded sadly like she agreed with what I was thinking. Maggot was already reading another page of newspaper. I looked at Jewel, rocking back and forth, muttering to himself.
“Don’t say nothing,” Rainbow whispered in my ear. “It’s too late now.”
The breeze blew a speck of grit into my eye, and I retreated into the darkness of my nest, blinking to make it go away. My stomach ached something awful. I thought about
Similar Books
