When they arrived back downstairs, Inspector Griffin was already waiting with her sister, Carl, Lily, and Charlie. Mini Mike and Tommy were there, too. Kathleen could see by their facial expressions, they were very worried.
“You heard about Kenny?” she asked, conscious she was stating the obvious.
“Tommy sent a boy to find me. He said Kenny was involved with the Eastman gang. This is more serious than we imagined,” Inspector Griffin said, his serious tone matching his facial expression.
“I don’t know how involved Kenny was,” Kathleen said. “From what he said, I think the man who took him to Macy’s had fallen out with Eastman.”
“Lucky Spielman and his two brothers worked closely with Monk Eastman until recently. In fact, many said Lucky was the obvious replacement should anything happen to Monk. News on the street is Monk is out for blood, and that can’t be good for Kenny,” Tommy clarified.
“You know what happened between Monk and Lucky?” Inspector Griffin questioned Tommy.
“One of the guards on a building under Monk’s protection got killed, but I’m not clear on how Lucky got involved. Might have been a fight. The Eastmans have closed ranks. It’s difficult to get answers, but we’ll keep trying. How’s Kenny?” Tommy asked, obviously changing the subject.
“Worried about Jack, but I told him the dog would probably get back to Granny. Can you get word to her he is here? But best tell her not to let anyone know,” Kathleen replied.
Tommy nodded.
“I will have to talk to Kenny. What did he tell you?” Inspector Griffin asked Kathleen.
“He said a girl called Angel protected him from some boys and brought him back to her house where she fed him. He had to have a bath, which he was very put out about.”
Lily and the others smiled, as they knew from experience how much the street kids hated baths.
“He said Angel was kind, and she gave him new clothes and fed him. She also told him to run away from her brothers. But Lucky heard her, and he stopped Kenny.”
“Did Angel say why Kenny should run?” Inspector Griffin asked.
“No, but Kenny said she seemed frightened. He said Lucky was nice to him the night before but changed in the morning. He said something about his big, blue eyes and blonde curls making women weep. Kenny wanted to know why people would cry by looking at him.” Kathleen could let her imagination run away with reasons why Lucky would want to make an impression on women, but none of them were good.
“Sounds to me like Lucky intended on using Kenny as some sort of decoy. I better speak to the Macy’s security men and make sure they are on the watch for the gang. A bit hard to miss given how tall the boys are,” Inspector Griffin said.
“You got to get Kenny away from here, Miss Kathleen. Being on Monk Eastman’s radar is never good. Not just for Kenny but for the sanctuary, too,” Mike spoke up, his neck coloring. Kathleen knew he hated being the center of attention.
“Yeah, we dealt with the gangs before, but Monk, he takes things up a level.” Tommy looked furious. “He is making a name for himself, and it ain’t because of his charms and good looks.”
“But I thought you worked with someone in his gang, Tommy?” Lily asked, causing Tommy’s neck to turn red.
“You shouldn’t be saying stuff like that, Miss Lily. That was our secret.”
“Tommy, we are among friends. I thought everyone knew you had an agreement with the gangs to help take the little ones off the street.”
Kathleen looked between her two friends. This was the first she had heard of any agreement. Glancing at Bridget’s expression, her sister was just as surprised as she was. She thought they did everything they could to avoid getting involved with the vicious gangs.
“You work with the gangs? But I thought they wanted the children to join them? Raise their own brand of cutthroats and pickpockets,” Richard asked, his disdainful expression earning a look of rebuke from Tommy.
“Tommy has what we call an understanding with certain gangs. They don’t want the really young children, as they consider them a burden. The older kids they can train to become members of the gang, but some are not suited, such as those whose arms don’t work properly, or they got something wrong with their legs. Those kids, the gangs let us take and bring here or drop them at the Christian Aid Society. Brace was working with the street gangs since the start, but he never told nobody. It wouldn’t have shown him in a good light with some rich folks.”
Kathleen stared at Mini Mike. That was the most she’d ever heard him talk.
“The gangs helped us save a lot of kids over the years. They aren’t all bad, you know. A lot of what they do, they do to survive,” Tommy protested.
“Yes, Tommy, we know. But that’s because we have seen first-hand what the streets are like. For those born in the large, brown houses, I guess they see things differently,” Lily hastened to reassure him.
“Even the police have been known to use the gangs. That right, Inspector?” Tommy’s challenging tone alerted Kathleen. She turned to the inspector who was looking distinctly uncomfortable.