Page 120 - Ext. Listening Reading_Neat

to the older, wooden building. The gravel “You have a school out here?” Emmitt
parking lot held a battered pickup, a late-
model sedan, and an old school bus that
had been painted blue and emblazoned
down the side with HOLY CHURCH OF
REDEMPTION in black letters. Emmitt
pulled into the lot and parked the
unmarked police car beside the bus.
When he and Phoebe climbed from the
car, a man emerged from a door at the
end of the cinder-block building and
walked briskly across the gravel toward
them. Slim, medium height, light-brown
hair cut short, he had the look and
carriage of a former military man.
“Detective Sorenson, I’m Reverend
Michaels,” he said as he extended his
hand to Phoebe. “We’re glad to have you
come out, but I’m sorry it’s under such
sad circumstances.” Phoebe shook his
hand and tilted her head toward Emmitt.
“Reverend Michaels, this is Detective
Speaks. He works in the Juvenile section.
As I told you on the phone, we’re here to
talk to the kids in the CCS program. All of
the parents have given their permission
for us to speak with them.” “Nice to meet
you, Detective Speaks.” Michaels’s
handshake was firm and dry. His hand
felt small in Emmitt’s larger one. Before
Emmitt could respond, the man turned
and started back across the lot toward the
door he’d exited. Emmitt and Phoebe
stepped quickly to follow in the pastor’s
wake. “The boys are in the Education Hall.
I told them we were having visitors this
afternoon, but I didn’t mention who was
coming. I thought it would be better if you
explained what you’re here about. As I’m
sure you know, these boys haven’t always
had the best relations with the police.”
When Michaels reached the door, he
opened it wide and waved them in, “First
door on your right.” “Just boys?” Emmitt
said. “There aren’t any girls in the
program?” Michaels shook his head. “We
don’t approve of mixing the sexes. All of
our school classrooms are segregated, and
we don’t have enough staff to offer a girls’
program at this time. Maybe in the future
if we feel we’re being successful with the
boys.”
116 | Extensive Listening & Reading
asked.
“Holy Redemption has a small school for
our members’ children, elementary
through high school. We’re accredited
with the state and offer a Christian-based
curriculum.” Michaels opened the door
and gestured for Phoebe and Emmitt to
precede him into the room. “Boys, this is
Detective Sorenson and Detective Speaks.
They would like to talk with you this
afternoon. When you’re finished, come to
chapel for our closing prayer.”
He gave Emmitt and Phoebe a slight nod,
backed out the door, and pulled it closed.
There were half a dozen teenage boys
occupying metal folding chairs around a
Formica-topped table. Expressions
ranged from guarded to apprehensive as
Emmitt and Phoebe took seats at the
table. Emmitt took the lead as they agreed
on the ride out. “Detective Sorenson and I
are here to talk about Juan, Deshawn,
and Bryan. We’re hoping you boys can
help us out.” “Just how you figure we can
do that?” The question came from a lanky
kid. Emmitt wouldn’t have picked the kid
as the leader; he wasn’t the largest by a
long shot and didn’t appear to be the
oldest. But it was clear the others were
following his lead.
“We know Juan, Deshawn, and Bryan
were part of the youth program out here,
so you must have known them. Anything
you can remember about them might help
us find out who killed them.” Emmitt
addressed his remarks to the whole table,
searching faces to gauge the response. No
one looked up. “They quit the program.”
Again, the lanky kid. This time he met
Emmitt’s gaze with a cool, appraising
look. “We don’t know nothing about what
they into. We already told that other
detective.” “That’s part of what we’d like to
find out,” Emmitt said, “when and why
they quit.” His statement was met with
silence. Several of the kids were sweating
in spite of the cool breeze blowing through
a partially opened window. Emmitt made
a mental note of which of the boys
appeared the most frightened. He would
start the interviews with them. Two hours
later, Emmitt and Phoebe went in search