Сидни Шелдон – The Sky is Falling (страница 7)

When Dana entered the office of Thomas Henry, the principal was pacing the floor, looking grim. Kemal sat in a chair across the room.

‘Good morning, Miss Evans. Please sit down.’

Dana glanced at Kemal and took a seat.

Thomas Henry picked up a large butcher knife from his desk. ‘One of Kemal’s teachers took this from him.’

Dana swiveled to look at Kemal, furious. ‘Why?’ she asked angrily. ‘Why did you bring this to school?’

Kemal looked at Dana and said sullenly, ‘I didn’t have a gun.’

‘Kemal!’

Dana turned to the principal. ‘May I speak to you alone, Mr Henry?’

‘Yes.’ He looked over at Kemal, his jaw tight. ‘Wait in the hallway.’

Kemal got to his feet, took one last look at the knife, and left.

Dana began, ‘Mr Henry, Kemal is twelve years old. He’s lived most of those years going to sleep with the sound of exploding bombs in his ears, the same bombs that killed his mother and father and sister. One of those bombs took off his arm. When I found Kemal in Sarajevo, he was living in a cardboard box in a vacant lot. There were a hundred other homeless boys and girls there, living like animals.’ She was remembering, trying to keep her voice steady.

‘The bombs have stopped, but the boys and girls are still homeless and helpless. The only way they can defend themselves against their enemies is with a knife or a rock or a gun, if they’re lucky enough to get hold of one.’ Dana closed her eyes for an instant and took a deep breath. ‘These children are scarred. Kemal is scarred, but he’s a decent boy. He just needs to learn that he’s safe here. That none of us is his enemy. I promise you he won’t do this again.’

There was a long silence. When Thomas Henry spoke, he said, ‘If I ever need a lawyer, Miss Evans, I’d like you to defend me.’

Dana managed a relieved smile. ‘I promise.’

Thomas Henry sighed. ‘All right. Have a talk with Kemal. If he does anything like this again, I’m afraid I’ll have to –’

‘I’ll talk to him. Thank you, Mr Henry.’

Kemal was waiting in the hallway.

‘Let’s go home,’ Dana said curtly.

‘Did they keep my knife?’

She did not bother to answer.

During the ride home, Kemal said, ‘I’m sorry I got you in trouble, Dana.’

‘Oh, no trouble. They’ve decided not to kick me out of school. Look, Kemal –’

‘Okay. No more knives.’

When they returned to the apartment, Dana said, ‘I have to get back to the studio. The sitter will be here any minute. Tonight you and I are going to have to have a long talk.’

When the evening broadcast was finished, Jeff turned to Dana. ‘You look worried, honey.’

‘I am. It’s Kemal. I don’t know what to do about him, Jeff. I had to go see his principal again today, and two more housekeepers have quit because of him.’

‘He’s a great kid,’ Jeff said. ‘He just needs warm-up time.’

‘Maybe. Jeff?’

‘Yes?’

‘I hope I didn’t make a terrible mistake bringing him here.’

When Dana returned to the apartment, Kemal was waiting.

Dana said, ‘Sit down. We have to talk. You must start obeying the rules, and these fights at school have to stop. I know the other boys are making it difficult for you, but you’ve got to come to some understanding with them. If you keep getting into fights, Mr Henry is going to throw you out of school.’

‘I don’t care.’

‘You have to care. I want you to have a wonderful future, and that can’t happen without an education. Mr Henry is giving you a break, but –’

‘Fuck him.’

‘Kemal!’ Without thinking, Dana slapped him across the face. She was instantly sorry. Kemal stared at her, a look of disbelief on his face, got up, ran into the study, and slammed the door shut.

The telephone rang. Dana picked it up. It was Jeff. ‘Dana –’

‘Darling, I – I can’t talk right now. I’m too upset.’

‘What happened?’

‘It’s Kemal. He’s impossible!’

‘Dana …’

‘Yes?’

‘Walk in his shoes.’

‘What?’

‘Think about it. Sorry, I’m on a deadline. Love you, and we’ll talk later.’

Walk in his shoes? That doesn’t make any sense, Dana thought. How can I know what Kemal is feeling? I’m not a twelve-year-old war orphan with one arm who’s gone through what he’s gone through. Dana sat there for a long time, thinking. Walk in his shoes. She rose, went into her bedroom, closed the door, and opened her closet door. Before Kemal had arrived, Jeff had spent several nights a week at the apartment and had left some of his clothes there. In the closet were pants, shirts and ties, a sweater, and a sports jacket.

Dana took out some of the clothes and placed them on the bed. She went to a bureau drawer and removed a pair of Jeff’s Jockey shorts and socks. Then Dana got completely undressed. She picked up Jeff’s Jockey shorts with her left hand and started putting them on. She lost her balance and fell. It took her two more attempts before she could get them on. Next, she picked up one of Jeff’s shirts. Using only her left hand, it took three frustrating minutes to slip into it and button it. She had to sit on the bed to don the trousers, and they were difficult to zip up. It took another two minutes to put on Jeff’s sweater.

When Dana was finally dressed, she sat down to catch her breath. This was what Kemal had to go through every morning. And that was only the beginning. He had to bathe and brush his teeth and comb his hair. And that was now. What about the past? Living in the horror of war, watching his mother, father, sister, and friends murdered.

Jeff’s right, she thought. I’m expecting too much too soon. He needs more time to adjust. I could never give up on him. My father abandoned my mother and me and I’ve never really forgiven him for that. There should be a thirteenth commandment: Thou shall not abandon those who love you.

Slowly, as Dana got dressed in her own clothes, she thought about the lyrics of the songs that Kemal listened to over and over again. The CDs of Britney Spears, the Backstreet Boys, Limp Bizkit. ‘Don’t want to lose you,’ ‘I need you tonight,’ ‘As long as you love me,’ ‘I just want to be with you,’ ‘I need love.’

All the lyrics were about loneliness and wanting.

Dana picked up Kemal’s report card. It was true that he was failing in most of his classes, but he had an A in math. It’s the A that’s important, Dana thought. That’s where he excels. That’s where he has a future. We’ll work on the other grades.

When Dana opened the door to the study, Kemal was in bed, with his eyes tightly closed and his pale face stained with tears. Dana looked at him a moment, then leaned over and kissed him on the cheek. ‘I’m so sorry, Kemal,’ she whispered. ‘Forgive me.’

Tomorrow will be a better day.

Early the following morning Dana took Kemal to a prominent orthopedic surgeon, Dr William Wilcox. After the examination, Dr Wilcox talked to Dana alone.

‘Miss Evans, to fit him with a prosthesis would cost twenty thousand dollars and there’s a problem here. Kemal is only twelve years old. His body will keep growing until he’s seventeen or eighteen. He could outgrow the prosthesis every few months. I’m afraid financially it’s not practical.’

Dana had a sinking feeling. ‘I see. Thank you, Doctor.’

Outside, Dana said to Kemal, ‘Don’t worry, darling. We’ll find a way.’

Dana dropped Kemal off at school and then headed for the studio. Half a dozen blocks away, her cell phone rang. She picked it up. ‘Hello?’

‘It’s Matt. There’s going to be a press conference on the Winthrop murder at police headquarters at noon. I want you to cover it. I’m sending over a camera crew. The police have really got their asses in a sling. The story is getting bigger every minute, and the cops don’t have a clue.’

‘I’ll be there, Matt.’

Police Chief Dan Burnett was in his office on the telephone when his secretary said, ‘The mayor is on line two.’

Burnett snapped, ‘Tell him I’m talking to the governor on line one.’ He went back to the phone.

‘Yes, Governor. I know that … Yes, sir. I think … I’m sure we can … As soon as we … Right. Good-bye, sir.’ He slammed the phone down.

‘The White House press secretary is on line four.’