Lonesome Men Read online

  “No really,” Darren had said, laughing. “So you’d better do as I said. I don’t think the guards at the jail are either, meaning you won’t be able to influence them to let you go.”

  Rob had picked up the battered Starbucks cup he’d been using to collect change, dumped the money in the pocket of his well-worn coat and pushed off the wall between the windows of a clothing store and a tourist shop. “Don’t suppose you have fifty cents you could loan me. Then I’ll have enough for fries with my burger.”

  “Loan you?”

  “Well, yeah. I’ll pay it back when I can. Hell, I see you around here all the time, even if you don’t see me.”

  Darren had shaken his head. “You seeing me is no surprise. It is my beat.”

  “Yours and that beefy blond’s. Say, Officer—” Rob had looked at Darren’s name badge, “—D. Cameron, what’s the ‘D’ stand for?”

  “Darren. And while we’re trading names, what’s yours?”

  “Rob.”

  “Just Rob?”

  “Until I trust you, yeah.”

  “Okay, Rob.” For whatever reason, one he couldn’t put a finger on, Darren had dug a couple of dollars out of his pocket, handing them to him. “If I find out you spent this on booze or drugs,” he’d cautioned.

  “Naw, not my thing. Thanks, Darren. I’ll see you around I’m sure.”

  “Undoubtedly,” Darren had replied, watching Rob shuffle off.

  He had found out later the shuffle was only one of the many ways Rob tried to gain sympathy when he was panhandling. He also had a sling he put on, on occasion, When he was outside the bus station, claiming he only needed a couple of dollars more to pay for his ticket home, he carried a battered messenger bag and wore the only decent jacket and jeans he owned.

  After their first meeting, Darren saw Rob at least once a week. Usually it was when he and Zack were doing alley patrols late at night. Then one evening, when he was off duty and had gone to a movie downtown, Darren had run into Rob while returning to his car.

  “Hey, Darren,” Rob had called out from his post by Joe’s Diner. “Buy a guy a cup of coffee?”

  “I’ll make you a deal,” Darren had said, going over to join him. “I’ll buy you supper, if you promise to go to the Tenth Street Shelter afterwards. I know for a fact they’ll find a place for you if you mention my name.”

  “Got friends in low places?” Rob had asked with a grin.

  “Yep. My ex brother-in-law volunteers there sometimes. You might end up on the floor but still…”

  “Beats sleeping under the stars tonight.” Rob had pointed up at the sky. Not that either of them could see the stars since dark clouds covered them. “I’m betting on rain. So yeah, you have a deal.”

  The meal had proved interesting. Rob was naturally gregarious, although up until then he’d been reticent to talk much about himself. That evening he’d opened up a bit. Darren had figured it was the result of having some decent food and enough of it. Plus the fact that, like many of the homeless, Rob knew to eat slowly when he had the chance so he could enjoy the food and not lose it afterward because his stomach wasn’t used to having so much in it. Therefore, Rob had talked between bites.

  “So I bet,” Rob had said as a preamble, “you wonder how a good looking guy like me ended up living on the streets.”

  Taking a stab at it, having a feeling he was right, Darren had replied, “Like a lot of returning vets, you came back to a lousy job market.”

  “Good guess. I had a place for a while, but they really like it if you pay the rent on time. I did find a couple of jobs but I’d fly off the handle too easy, at least back then, so…” He’d shrugged.

  “PTSD?”

  “That’s what they told me. Not that I saw an army doc, but when I ended up at a shelter after getting kicked out of my place I talked to a counselor. She said, from what I told her, I probably do suffer from a mild version of it. Hell, I was always pretty easy going before I ended up in Iraq.”

  “No family?” Darren had asked.

  “Yeah, but we aren’t really on speaking terms. Part of the reason I joined up.”

  Darren had resisted asking what had prompted that. He’d figured if Rob wanted him to know he’d tell him. Since he didn’t, Darren had left it alone. One thing he had picked up on, although he’d sort of doubted Rob realized it, had come from Rob’s comment, “War’s bad enough. Having to face harassment from your buddies because you didn’t come up to their ‘standards’ made things even worse. Not,” he’d added quickly, “that I ever did, but I saw it happen.” Darren had been fairly certain that if Rob hadn’t been hassled it was only because he followed DADT to the letter. Presumption, yeah, but I bet I’m right.

  “But enough about that,” Rob had said. “I got back here, honorably discharged by the way, and found out things weren’t going to be as great as I hoped. Like I said a couple of minutes ago, no one was clamoring to hire me to make the big bucks. I found a cheap apartment, worked as a short-order cook and a sales clerk in a dollar-store. Tried construction but I’m not exactly the brawny, beefy type.” He’d shrugged. “Not that you have to be I guess, but with the job I managed to get it would have helped. So anyway, I lost my apartment, slept in my car for a while until it got impounded because I didn’t have insurance, up-to-date plates, and a legal place of residence. So here I am, a denizen of the streets. Before you start feeling sorry for me, it isn’t all that bad. Not great, but—” Rob had smiled, “—I’m my own man and it keeps me from going to fat.”

  That evening had been the only time Rob had talked openly about himself to Darren. When they met on the streets or in the alleys they might, if Darren had time, talk a bit about their day, and occasionally Darren met him at the diner to buy him supper, but that was all.

  “So you gonna kick me off the roof?” Rob asked now, not moving from his spot by the swamp cooler.

  “Technically I should,” Darren replied after glancing around to make certain no one, especially Zack, could see them. “But I know all the shelters are full, even if you’d deign to go to one.”

  “Even your brother-in-law’s?”

  “Yeah, even his. He told me there’s been a forty-four percent raise in homeless people in the city in the last few months and there’s no more shelters than there were a year ago. We were lucky to find you a space the first night we had supper at the diner.”

  “So why the hell are the cops cracking down on us? Never mind, I know. We look bad to the damned tourists and the folks coming in from the subs for dinner and a movie.”

  “Got it in one,” Darren said dryly. “Okay, I’ll let you stay here. Just keep out of sight and if anyone else comes up here, send them away with their tails between their legs.”

  Rob rolled his eyes. “I don’t think I’m the scary type, but I’ll do my best.”

  “Thanks.”

  With that said, Darren handed Rob a five and went back down to the alley. From there, he and Zack continued patrolling until their shift ended for the night.

  * * * *

  “You’re off today. Right?” Jesse said when he walked into the kitchen to find Darren fixing lunch early Monday afternoon—his first meal of the day, since he’d slept until noon after arriving home at four-thirty from his Sunday shift.

  Darren chuckled. “Depends why you want to know.”

  “We signed the lease on an apartment on Saturday and I’m going to move Leah’s things over there and could use a hand. She’ll help too but not until she gets off work.”

  “Sure, why not. But not until I’ve eaten. By the way, how did you do on your mid-terms?”

  Jesse grinned. “Aced them.”

  “Great. I knew you would. Okay, set the table and let’s get this show on the road.”

  After lunch, the pair drove over to Leah’s to pack her things into Jesse’s truck and the trunk of Darren’s car. That accomplished, Jesse called to let Malcom know they were on their way, since at this point Leah had their only set of key
s to the building and the apartment.

  Malcom was waiting in the lobby when Jesse and Darren arrived, wearing a paint-spattered pair of overalls.

  “The new color of your walls,” Malcom said, pointing to one of several spots on the overalls. “I thought about going with this—” he tapped a spot of green, “—but Ms Graham said she wanted something neutral when I called to ask.” He turned his attention to Darren. “By the way, I’m Malcom Tanner. I take care the building and do all the maintenance that doesn’t require major plumbing or electrical skills.”

  “Darren Cameron, Jesse’s father,” Darren replied, holding out his hand.

  Malcom wiped one hand on his overalls before shaking Darren’s. “Hopefully I didn’t get paint on you.”

  Darren checked and shook his head. “Nope.”

  “Good. Shall we go up so you can see the place?” Malcom grinned. “Mind you, if you don’t approve it’s too late. Jesse and Ms Graham already signed the lease.”

  “He trusts our common sense, the same way you probably do with your kids,” Jesse said as they got on the elevator.

  “Since I don’t have any, I don’t have to worry about that,” Malcom replied with a wink. “No kids, no wife, never had one and for sure I’m not planning on changing that at this late date.”

  Darren shot Jesse a glance when Malcom wasn’t looking. He knew exactly what his son was doing and mouthed, “Quit it.”

  Jesse grinned back innocently.

  When they got to the apartment, which unsurprisingly smelled of paint fumes, Jesse walked Darren through it.

  “We figure we’ll use the second bedroom as our home office, maybe with a daybed instead of a sofa in case we get an overnight guest,” Jesse said.

  “Not a bad idea. I could do that with your bedroom once you move out. Or maybe,” Darren said with a straight face, “turn it into the dog’s room.”

  “Dad,” Jesse muttered. “You’re not really getting a dog, are you?”

  “What’s wrong with dogs?” Malcom asked, obviously overhearing them. “I have one, though he doesn’t have a room of his own.” He chuckled. “He thinks the whole apartment is his ‘room’ and I’m just his servant.”

  “What kind of dog?” Darren asked as they all went back to the living room.

  “An Airedale. Smart as a whip and loves to run which keeps me in shape.”

  Darren nodded. “Do you live here?”

  “In the building? Yep. It’s easier to manage it if I’m on the premises. The owner agrees since,” Malcom grinned, “that would be me.”

  “Nice.” Darren turned to Jesse. “We should probably start bringing in Leah’s things, if Malcom doesn’t mind. We can stash them in the bedrooms until he’s finished painting out here.”

  “No problem as far as I’m concerned,” Malcom said. “I only have the last wall to do.”

  As Jesse and Darren went back down to the truck, Jesse asked, “So what do you think?”

  “It’s a nice place and Leah’s right, the cream is much better than green.”

  Jesse sighed. “That’s not what I meant, though yeah, she was.”

  Darren shook his head. “If you mean what do I think about Malcom, he’s undoubtedly a good landlord and manager since it is his building. He has a vested interest in keeping it up.”

  “True, but that’s still not…”

  “Okay, he seems like a nice person, but I’ve only had a few words with him. For all either of us know he’s straight and a confirmed bachelor. There are people like that.”

  “And if he’s not?” They were at the truck by then and Jesse pulled back the tarp covering Leah’s furniture.

  Darren helped him take out the sofa, a dresser, and the small kitchen table, replying as he did, “If he isn’t, he isn’t. Jesse, in case you haven’t gotten it, I’m not in the market for a housemate once you’re gone. Even if I was, and if I found him interesting, and vice versa, he lives here because he owns the building so—” he looked hard at his son as they carried the sofa into the lobby, “—he’s out as a housemate. Yeah, maybe I’ll date, if I find someone who might be interested. That might not happen. I’m well past dating age, and I’m a cop. Not exactly the greatest combination.” He smiled wryly. “Ask Nigel about the cop part. That’s the reason things only lasted a few months.”

  “Yeah, well Nigel was an idiot. The next guy you meet won’t be. You’re older and wiser now.”

  “Yep. Wise enough to know I won’t find someone for anything other than companionship for dinner or a movie.”

  “Not with that attitude,” Jesse muttered.

  Darren laughed. “It’s how I feel, so stop trying to play matchmaker between me and poor Malcom.”

  “I wasn’t…”

  “You were.”

  With that said, they got back to work. After their third trip up with furniture, Malcom announced that he was finished with the painting and was willing to help them out since he had nothing more pressing to do.

  “Well, nothing that I want to do,” he added with a sigh. “If I can put off paying bills for a couple more hours, I’ll be a happy camper.”

  Darren grinned. “I know that feeling. I think three more trips and we’ll have everything up here, with your help. Is that enough of a respite?”

  “You bet.”

  As they waited for the elevator to go back downstairs, Malcom asked, “What do you do for a living that you’re off on a Monday?”

  “I’m a cop.”

  “Really? Like a detective?”

  “Nope. Just a street cop. I work out of the 211 precinct, downtown.”

  After they got on the elevator, Malcom said, “I don’t think that’s a ‘just’. It’s a hard, dangerous job.”

  “At times. It can also be very routine and boring. Okay, maybe not boring but definitely routine.”

  “Traffic stops and dealing with things like lost dogs and the homeless?”

  Darren chuckled. “Lost dogs aren’t really a problem. Traffic stops are a necessary part of the job. As for the homeless, we do our best to help them if we can. At least some of us do. It’s like anything else; some officers see them as a problem and want them out of sight and out of mind.” Darren frowned deeply for a moment as they got off the elevator. “Others realize there are underlying problems that need to be dealt with if we’re going to help any of them beyond finding them a shelter to stay at for a night, or a place to get a decent meal.” Then he smiled when he saw Leah standing outside the lobby door. “But enough of that. Right now we have a job to finish and it looks like our last helper has arrived.”

  Jesse let her into the lobby, greeting her with a kiss and a question. “Is it that late?”

  “No. I asked my boss if I could leave early.” She grinned up at him. “I told her I wasn’t sure two men would know how to set up the furniture and she told me to get my butt over here before the sofa ended up in the bedroom and dresser where the bookshelves should be.”

  Jesse harrumphed. “We’re not totally clueless. Come on, grab something and I’ll show you. Okay, the living room furniture is in the middle of the room because Malcom had barely finished painting the walls when we got here, but the rest of the stuff…”

  “They make a cute pair,” Malcom commented once Jesse and Leah had taken some boxes from the truck and were heading back to the building.

  “Yeah, they do. Jesse got lucky when he found her. Of course as a proud father I should say she got just as lucky.”

  “Does your wife agree?”

  “Ex-wife, and from what Jesse says, she does.”

  Malcom seemed to ponder that for a moment before asking, “Do you and she get along?”

  “As well as can be expected under the circumstances.”

  “One reason not to get married. There’s no guarantee it’s going to last.”

  “As Jesse would say, true that.” Darren picked up one of the last of the boxes. “Good Lord, what did she pack in here? Lead weights?”

  Malcom laug
hed. “Books maybe? They can weight about as much and from the bookshelves you and Jesse toted up, she must be a reader.”

  “That she is.”

  Between the four of them, they finally emptied the truck and the trunk of Darren’s car. Jesse and Leah thanked Malcom for his help, and for the paint job. Then, avoiding Darren’s gaze, Jesse asked Malcom if he’d like to join them for dinner at a nearby restaurant, in repayment for all he’d done. “Us, and Dad of course.”

  “Thanks, but I’ll pass,” Malcom replied. “As much as I’ve enjoyed your company, I really do have things to take care of.”

  “Like bills,” Darren said with a grin.

  “Yeah, them,” Malcom grumbled before saying to Jesse, “Perhaps some other time.”

  “That works.”

  Malcom left, after being thanked again. Darren was tempted to tell Jesse he’d been pushing it—again. He decided why bother. If he ignored it, perhaps Jesse would back off. So he told his son he’d pass on supper, too, and head back to the house, “To soak my aching muscles.”

  “Okay…old man,” Jesse said with a grin before hugging him. “Thanks, Dad. I couldn’t have done this without you. Or—” he grinned at Leah, “—more like she and I would still be doing it, late into the night.”

  “Very true,” Leah said, also giving Darren a hug. “When I’m finally set up and all, I’m definitely having you over for a celebratory dinner, in payment.”

  “Thanks. I’d like that. Okay, I’ll see you if and when you get home, Jesse.”

  Darren left, and as he drove home his thoughts went to Malcom momentarily. He seems like a good man. They could have done worse for a landlord. A lot worse. Now all I have to do is get Jesse to back off, because the man is definitely straight. Like every other man I know, with the possible exception of Rob. He chuckled. And somehow I don’t see him as on the market any more than I am.

  * * * *

  The two months between moving Leah into the apartment and Jesse’s graduation passed much as Darren expected. Jesse split his time between home and the apartment. Darren was invited over a few times for supper. Twice he ran into Malcom in the lobby and once as the man was heading out to walk Gregor.