How Gene and Jim hooked up….

By Catherine D. Kobasiuk

Gene meandered down the narrow deserted street. His eyes looked at the pavement but that wasn’t what he was seeing. His thoughts were of the Pro he’d just left. A new girl from off Sentinel , she was still low down in the stable hierarchy and so couldn’t charge that much or provide her own room but she was definite worth the 100 Wong he had paid her. He smiled to himself as he remembered that cute thing she did, ….’ Yep, I am going to be a repeat customer’ he thought.

Gene turned the corner a couple of blocks from his flop, the sun was starting to come up and he could hear a dog bark in the distance. (Guard dog or lunch?) He squinted as he looked up the street to where he saw a Police Car parked. He slowed his walking down until he was just barely moving forward. He watched as the Police officers knocked on a door, “was it his door?” he wondered, “ Maybe I’ll take a really long walk before going to bed” he muttered to himself. Just then the door was opened , the street was so quite he could almost make out some words the cops spoke to the some one who had answered the door. Then the cops went in and the door was closed.

“Phew! Not looking for me.” Gene was relieved; he just wanted to pass out in bed before the booze started wearing off. He quickened his pace hoping to get down the street and into his door before the Police came out of the house they had just went into. A major rule in his life was the less the cops new about him the better. As he passed the Police car he realized that the flat the cops had gone into was the Hawkings place, was little Jimmy’s Pop up to no good? No, wait, didn’t Mrs. Hawkings come around early in the week and ask him to keep an ear out for Jim cause her and the Old Man were going out of town on business? At least that is what he could remember; besides the hang over he had had that morning/afternoon.

Just as Gene reached to unlock the door to his flat he heard a scream and then a lot of crashing and hollering from next door. “So much for getting to bed” Thought Gene. He walked over to the door, which was barely ajar and heard the two cops trying to talk calmly someone. He tapped on the door while slowly pushing it open ”excuse me, is everything alright officers? “

The cops were male and female, the female was standing over Jim talking quietly to him, the Male cop walked over to
Gene and ushered him out of the decrepit flat while closing the door over but not shutting it completely.

“Excuse me Sir, but do you know the Hawkings? Do you live near here?” the cop didn’t seem to be really interested in Gene per se

“Yea, I live next door, the kids Mom and Dad went out of town and asked me to keep an eye out while they were gone. Is some thing wrong?”

“James and Mary Hawkings were killed yesterday morning in a traffic accident in West Georgia.” The officer opened his writing tablet, “ Do you know of any family or friends here in West Virginia or else wear?” He looked up hopefully waiting to write down anything Gene might tell him about the Hawkings.

“ Actually, I think I remember the kid telling me that he had no other Family on Sentinel since they had settled here right after he was born. The kids a real talker when he hangs around my shop.”

“Any Friends?” coaxed the cop.

Gene squirmed, doubt it, seeing as they asked me to keep an eye on him, if he was mine and I had friends I wouldn’t have been on the top of my list. Thought Gene.

He just said,” I don’t know did ya ask the Kid?”

“Yes, but he is pretty upset and not much help at the time” “Well if we can’t get family or friends to take him in today until everything is squared away the boy will have to go to the children’s center”

Gene ground his teeth “ the children’s center” yea great place to put a kid, especially one with problems. Gene only Spent 3 days in one of those children’s centers until his mother came to pick him up but it was almost as bad a being lost in space, maybe worse if you count getting beat up every couple of hours.

“Hey, Officer, if the only place you can take him is a children’s center he could stay with me for a couple of days until things get sorted out. I mean, have you ever been in one of those places? Not where you want to be when you are not at your best, ya know?”