I woke to my ringing phone at one o’clock. I hoped it was Lutz calling to tell me they had Kevin Tibbs in custody.
I took a swallow of water, cleared my throat, and looked at the screen before answering.
“Hey, Boss. Tell me something good.”
“You got your wish. The night shift officers are bringing Kevin Tibbs in. I’m already at the station, and they should be here in twenty minutes or so. Jefferson said he thinks the kid is high. Ranting about a friend who sounded like he was in trouble.”
I yawned and stretched. “Probably a ploy to take the focus off himself. Is somebody going to call his mom?”
“Yep, I’ll take care of that.”
“Good enough. I’m on my way and should be there in under a half hour.” I hung up and rolled my neck as I headed to the bathroom. Each vertebra cracked. A quick rinse in the shower was all I needed, and I’d grab a coffee and a doughnut to go at the twenty-four-hour corner gas station. Before leaving, I filled Bandit’s bowl with kibbles, left the kitchen light on, and set the alarms. I was excited to get my chance at Kevin Tibbs.
Arriving at the district at 1:35, I parked my Camaro and entered through the back door. I would check in with the night shift officer in charge of the jail wing, make sure Kevin Tibbs was seated in an interrogation room, then wait for his mom to show up. Upstairs, I planned to brainstorm with Lutz and figure out what to offer Kevin for worthwhile information.
Officer Brian Jennings was manning the jail wing. He told me Kevin was in box one and extremely agitated.
“I wonder what’s up his ass other than the fact that he was picked up.”
“Don’t know other than he keeps saying he needs to check on his friend.”
I smirked. “Well, that isn’t happening. So where is his truck?”
“We locked it up and left it where it was. Guess the mom can worry about it.”
“Any drugs inside?”
“Yep, we found two joints and a small amount of weed in a baggie, which we took into custody.”
“Good enough. Call me when the mom shows up.”
“Will do.”
Upstairs, I saw Lutz at the end of the hallway, and he waved at me to join him in the cafeteria. Two hot coffees were necessary to get our brains functioning. With our coffees in hand, we continued to the bullpen, where I was expecting the call from Officer Jennings as soon as Kevin Tibbs’s mother showed up. I was certain she wouldn’t be in the best mood.
Lutz blew over his coffee. “The officers found pot in Kevin’s vehicle.”
I nodded. “Jennings told me that, and we can use it as leverage. Being under eighteen, Kevin could face some time in juvy if his record warrants it.”
“Have you looked to see if he has any priors?”
“Not yet. What we do know is he was in possession of weed, is a truant, and hangs with a dangerous crowd.” I fired up my computer. “Might as well check since we have to wait for the mom, anyway. The more ammunition we have to work with, the better.”
I typed his name into the justice department’s youthful offender database, and several possession charges popped up, along with misdemeanor destruction of property.
“Graffiti on a bus stop shelter?” I rolled my eyes. “Kids have too much free time on their hands.”
“Or they have parents who don’t have time to participate in their lives.”
I huffed. “Yeah, that too.”
“We need to get him on the right track, and the only way to do that is by instilling fear in him. In less than a year, Kevin will be considered an adult in the eyes of the law. Right now, he’s protected under the youthful offenders bill, but when he turns eighteen, he won’t be. His crimes will be held against him. We can send him to juvy until that time, or at least have him believe we can. After that, he’ll be held accountable for every wrongdoing, and his criminal record will begin.”
The plan was worth a shot. We needed to know where Manny lived, his last name, and the full name of the guy who stabbed Leslie, and we wanted it all that night.
It was pushing two o’clock when my desk phone finally rang. Jennings said Mrs. Tibbs had arrived and was waiting for us downstairs.
“Time to go, Boss.”
We grabbed our coffees and headed to the lower level of our building, where we would compel Kevin to tell us what we wanted to know.
Sitting on one of three steel chairs at the end of the tiled hallway, Mrs. Tibbs looked tired and aggravated. I couldn’t blame her, and I knew she wasn’t pleased with us for bringing Kevin in during the middle of the night, but we had a job to do. The kid was lucky we hadn’t slapped a curfew violation on him, too, but he was seventeen, and curfew applied only through the age of sixteen.
When we reached her, I introduced her to Lutz, and she gave him a curt nod.
“Give us just a minute, ma’am. We need to make sure Kevin is minding his p’s and q’s, and then we’ll come get you.”
“How long is this going to take? I doubt if I’m going to get any more sleep tonight, and I need to be at work by seven.”
I scratched my cheek. “We don’t know. That’s entirely up to Kevin.”
Lutz and I made a stop in the observation room first. We watched Kevin through the glass as he squirmed in his chair, probably cursing the fact that he was there.
“Yeah, he’s definitely pissed,” I said.
The kid had greasy black hair, tattoos on his neck and the knuckles on both hands, ear gauges, and a lip ring. I hoped someday he’d regret those choices and clean up his act instead of going farther down the wrong road.
I shook my head. “I’ll get his mom.”
Lutz sighed as he pulled open the door. “Kids these days.”