Gun Games - Faye Kellerman [22]
“I get it. Ever since we put in a professional coffee/cappuccino machine to go along with our candy dispenser, everyone’s been much happier.”
“So there you go.” Rina smiled. “Just goes to show you. Never underestimate the power of caffeine and sugar.”
Even layered in a bulky, hooded sweatshirt and baggy jeans, the kid was all limbs and bones. Decker took the boy into an interview room, setting him up with a glass of water and a candy bar. The kid said, “I got the taillight fixed.”
“Great.”
“Thanks for not giving me a ticket.”
“No problem. Glad you got it taken care of.” Decker pulled out a portable tape recorder. “Do you mind if we record the conversation? It’s standard procedure. No one has a perfect memory.”
“Sure, go ahead.”
Decker gave the introduction, the name of the person he was talking to, the time and the date. “Thanks for coming in.”
“Sure.” Joey interlaced his long fingers and shrugged. “What’s there to say?”
“Gregory’s mom is completely in the dark about what happened. It caught her off guard.”
“Tell me about it.”
“You didn’t see it coming, either?”
The boy looked doleful. “No.”
Decker said, “Tell me about Gregory Hesse. What was he like?”
Joey’s eyes darkened. “It’s hard to describe a person that you’ve known forever. Greg was Greg.”
“What did you two do together?”
Another shrug. “We hung out . . . went to movies, played video games. We always got along. We’re both kinda nerdy . . . like you can’t tell. I’m more the typical math/science guy. Greg was great in math also, but he liked English. Reading and writing came easy to him. He used to help me with my essays.” Joey bit his lip. “He was a smart dude.”
“You have other friends in common?”
“Yeah, we have group—Mikey, Brandon, Josh, Beezel. If you’re going to survive at B and W, you need buddies.”
“What happens if you don’t have buddies?”
“You’re screwed. B and W is not a nice place. But if you don’t come across as desperate, you can get by and get a good education.”
“What happened with Kevin Stanger?”
“Oh man, poor Kev.” He shook his head. “Survival of the fittest, you know. Kev couldn’t hack it.”
“Why not?”
“You know, not all nerds are smart. That was Kevin’s problem. He was dorky without having any brains to back him up. It made him a target.”
“Guys were beating on him?”
“Nah, it’s more subtle. They just crowd you, man. Like you’re walking along and suddenly there’re a dozen of them walking next to you, flicking the back of your head or groping you or asking for money, which you give them. But even afterward, they don’t let up. With Kevin, it went on day after day after day.”
“He didn’t go to the administration with his problems?”
“You do that, it gets worse. Best thing to do is ride it out and hope they find some other target. Crowding is especially anxiety provoking because inside you’re thinking that any moment, it’s gonna turn violent.”
“That’s what they call it? Crowding?”
“Yeah, a group of guys and girls just get in your face.”
“How many?” Decker asked.
“Anywhere from four or five to upward. And since they’re not really hurting you, who are you going to whine to? It’s just all about mastery—like who’s the boss.”
“Who are they?”
“Just jerk-offs,” Joey said. “It’s stupid for me to name names because once you become a target, it’s like the word gets out and you’re fair game for everyone. I get by just fine. No offense, but I’m not going to screw myself over.”
“They wouldn’t know the source, Joey. We could keep it private.”
“Find someone else. It wouldn’t help you anyway, because Greg didn’t have a problem. He could work it.” Joey appeared lost in thought. “We both do tutoring—which is also why I’m not naming names. I have to pay for my car, and gas is expensive. Tutoring brings in good money.”
“I understand. Tell me about Greg and his tutoring.”
“I wouldn’t swear to it, but I think Greg