Adored

Sixty-nine

What Happened Friday Night to Joey with the Police

Joey began breathing quickly as panic set in. Reflexively, he tried to jerk out of the grasp on his arm, but the officer was used to these responses and just tightened his grip without bruising him.

"Easy there, Joe." Stella coaxed in a calm, even voice.

He looked around wildly like a trapped animal searching for a way to escape.

Officer Mike nodded his head at the officer holding his arm and he let him go.

Joey started to back away from them without looking where he was going, but he only succeeded in backing into another plain clothes officer. He had forgotten already that they were all officers. A tear tracked down his face.

"My folks are going to kill me." He cried out.

"Joe, I need to read you your rights and then I'll explain the charges. I'll also tell you what will happen next. Yes, you're in a lot of trouble, but we're doing this to prevent bigger trouble down the road. Just take some deep breaths and listen." Mike said in his commanding yet calm tone.

Joey nodded his head and tried to take several deep breaths, but it wasn't helping.

"Deep, slow breaths, Joe. Don't make yourself sick." Stella cautioned. She stepped closer and laid her hand on his bicep, noting how much of her hand fit around it. He wasn't frail or unhealthy looking, but he was definitely not built up like many teen boys. She leaned over and breathed deep and slow for Joey to mirror her pattern and see if he could get control of himself.

He finally turned to look at her. One lone tear tracked silently down his face as he gave a shuttering sigh.

"It doesn't matter what you plan for me, my dad will be done with me." More tears followed the track of the first one and he turned away, hunched over.

Mike flinched at the dejected tone of Joey's voice. They had known when they came up with this plan that it would disrupt a lot of families, but not as much as a death of a teen would. But he was also aware some teens drank because they had no support system at home. Instead of contradicting the boy for exaggerating, he made a mental note of his despair and intended to sit down to talk to him for a long time just as soon as he heard his rights. It was tricky to question him because as a minor he should have a parent present, but since they would be asking him about his relationship with his parents first before questioning him about the fake I.D., they could work a little leeway.

"I'm going to read you your rights now." Mike told him firmly but not unkindly as though talking to someone he didn't want to have to arrest, which was precisely the case. This boy wasn't like some of the careless, brash teens he had dealt with. There was a vulnerability he sensed in Joey, and he wanted to find the root of it, because therein lay the way to help him, he believed.

After he had finished reading him his rights and getting verbal acknowledgement that he understood the rights, Mike placed a hand on his shoulder. "I'm going to cuff you now and then we're going out the back to a police car."

"Mike!" Stella began but stopped when he threw her a look.

"We all agreed full treatment for everyone." He reminded her as he met her stare.

She frowned, pursing her lips as if she'd eaten something distasteful, but she nodded in agreement. At the outset, they had all agreed to the plan. It hadn't been a problem before now, before this boy. Maybe it was that Joey used manners and was mostly quiet or maybe it was his response of the certainty how his father would react. Unfortunately, they'd all seen cases where getting knocked around or kicked out was the first, second, and third response. They had contingencies in place, but she hoped it didn't come to that.