Denim Mitchell is excited to learn that she's been selected to tutor students after school. Not only will this earn her extra credit in her honors classes, but it will also look good on her college applications. Fourteen-year-old Julius Graham enjoys working with his new tutor, but when he becomes the only witness to a horrific crime in his neighborhood, Julius shuts down emotionally. He hasn't told anyone what he saw, but with the detectives hanging around his house asking questions, he fears that it's only a matter of time before the murderer comes looking for him. Withdrawn and scared, Julius realizes that he has to tell someone his secret, but at what cost? Will Denim become his voice of reason and convince him to do the right thing, or will his secret put not only his family at risk, but Denim as well?
Release date:
September 1, 2012
Publisher:
Urban Renaissance
Print pages:
288
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Everything seemed to be moving in fast-forward. There were police everywhere, and a crowd had gathered outside the store. The police patted Julius down before escorting him into the store office, while paramedics checked on the clerk. Seconds later two Arrington homicide detectives entered the office to get a statement from Julius while his memory was fresh. A third detective prepared to check the store’s surveillance cameras to see if the crime had been captured on videotape. After getting Julius’s complete name and address, the two detectives introduced themselves to the teenager.
“Julius, I’m Detective Daniels, and this is Detective Young. We want to take you downtown so we can talk to you in private about what happened here tonight.”
“I need to call my parents,” Julius announced nervously.
“Don’t worry. We sent a police officer to your house to talk to your parents. They’re going to meet us at the precinct,” Detective Daniels answered.
Julius looked up at the detectives with tears in his eyes and said, “I’d really like to speak to my dad. Please?”
“Okay,” Detective Young replied as he gave Julius his cell phone back so he could call his dad.
Julius dialed his father’s number and waited for him to answer. Once he heard his father’s voice, he felt relieved.
“Dad, are you on your way to get me?”
“Of course I am. Are you hurt?” his father asked.
“No, sir, I’m fine. Just a little shaken up.”
“I know you’re scared, son, but be strong, and don’t say a word to the detectives until I get there. By law, they can’t question you without me or your mother being there.”
“But, Dad—”
“No buts, Julius,” his father said, interrupting him. “You know how things are in our neighborhood. If the person who did this finds out you’re talking to the cops, I would hate to think what could happen. Understand?”
“Yes, sir.”
“Good! So if they start questioning you, just tell them you want to wait until your parents arrive. Okay?”
“Yes, sir.”
Julius hung up his cell phone just as a police officer walked into the office. He whispered something to the detectives before walking back out into the store.
Detective Daniels sighed and then put his hand on Julius’s shoulder. “Julius, I’m sorry to tell you this, but the cashier didn’t make it. Now you see how important it is to tell us everything that happened here tonight.”
Julius lowered his head and said, “I want to help, but this is a tough neighborhood. If people see me coming out of here, they’re going to think I’m a snitch. I’ll be dead in twenty-four hours.”
“Don’t worry, young man,” Detective Daniels stated. “No one knows you’re here, and to be safe, we’re going to take you out the back door and shield you as much as possible.”
“Promise?” Julius asked.
“Promise,” Detective Daniels replied.
“Julius, if you can identify the shooter, you have to tell us.”
Julius hesitated and then answered, “I want to wait until my parents are with me.”
The detective motioned for Julius to stand up and said, “You have to trust us so we can catch the guy who did.”
The choice was no longer in Julius’s hands, because he was a minor, but he would have to become a man sooner than he had ever expected. In the meantime he would do his best not to get himself and his family killed. The person he saw in the reflection of the freezer was not a person anyone wanted to cross, and he hoped he never had to.
At the police station he was greeted by his frantic parents. His mother examined him to make sure he wasn’t injured. His father spoke with the detectives before accompanying his son into the chilly interrogation room, while his mother waited in a conference room with a hot cup of coffee. The two detectives entered the interrogation room with coffee for Julius’s father and hot cocoa for Julius.
“Mr. Graham, we appreciate you allowing us to interview your son. The sooner we can put the person responsible for this homicide behind bars, the better it will be for the victim’s family and everyone in your neighborhood,” Detective Daniels said.
Mr. Graham leaned forward and said, “Detective Daniels, I’m going to be straight up with you. We didn’t come down here to put our son’s life at risk. I only came down here to get my boy. You’re going to have to catch the killer another way.”
Detective Daniels looked at Mr. Graham and said, “Sir, I don’t think you understand. There’s a killer on the streets of your neighborhood, and your son is the only person who can help us catch him.”
“Detective, there are a lot of killers on the streets of my neighborhood. My son is not saying a word,” Mr. Graham announced as he stood. “We’re walking out of here . . . now.”
“Please, Mr. Graham. We really need your cooperation,” the detective stressed.
Julius’s father reached for the doorknob and yelled, “I said we’re leaving! And if you continue to harass my son, I’m going to hire an attorney to protect my son’s rights.”
“Mr. Graham, Julius was in the store at the time of the murder, and if we can’t get you to cooperate, the evidence could steer our investigation in a different direction.”
Julius’s father turned to face the detective and asked, “Are you threatening me?”
“All I’m saying is that I won’t be able to stop the DA if he decides to look at Julius as a possible accomplice instead of a witness for the prosecution. Until we have a chance to interview him properly, we have no choice but to consider an alternate theory.”
Mr. Graham walked over to Detective Daniels and pointed his finger in his face. “You have lost your damn mind if you think I’m going to stand here and let you try to accuse my son of this bullshit. Do what you have to do, and I’ll do what I have to do to protect my child. This conversation is over and we’re out of here, and if you have anything else to say to my son, you’ll have to go through me and my attorney, and believe me, it’ll be harder to get past me than my attorney.”
The detectives had no choice but to allow Julius to leave with his parents. The detectives watched as the Graham family walked out of the office and onto the elevator.
“He’ll be back,” Detective Daniels stated.
Detective Young turned to his partner and replied, “I think you’re wrong, partner.”
They returned to their office and sat down at their desks and started going over the case.
“Did yo. . .
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