The Streets
Nathan was walking from Seventh Avenue towards the library building. He was remembering that the library neighborhood used to be one of the safest areas in the city. Yet it appeared to be a high crime area compared to neighborhoods far west from the lake.
These thoughts brought into his mind what he had read once in a police training material. Statistically high crime rates were observed within walking distance from public transit stations.
From Kenosha Metra Station, the library was just fifteen minutes’ walk along eleventh avenue and sixtieth street, across eighth street. He could not help but blame Metra Station and its link to Chicago for the general high crime rates of the city. Kenosha appeared in several studies for its higher crime rates compared to other cities of similar size and population in the nation.
He walked past the entire Library Park and arrived at the brink of Eighth Avenue. He needed darkness to pursue the ghost in the library. Hence, he ventured to walking to Metra Station and walking back to the library when it was dark. He had also decided to reconnoiter the southwest corner of Library Park. This corner appeared to be the fringe area of high crime zones in the city.
The pleasant summer breeze brought a shadow of loneliness. It reminded Nathan of his friends. Some of them went back to school in pursuit of advanced business degrees or law degrees. Nathan chose police work, after leaving active service in the military.
Returning from his second tour to Afghanistan he discovered that his mother had become older and frailer. He wished to live near her. She suggested Nathan join the police force like his father. That was five years ago.
Since then he has become somewhat submerged in work. He barely found time to meet new people outside work. In the past five years, he has not made any friends. Nor did he go on any date.
Around Metra Station, he found a few children loitering about. Some were in hoodies and pretended to walk fast to a defined destination. Nathan walked further North and came back to the station in a while, just to check that children who pretended to walk away were back in the waiting area.
Nathan felt sorry for the children. The evening pleasantness brought by the breeze would turn to chill during the wee hours of the day. The children would suffer in the cold until the child services department would rescue them.
He was thinking of calling the child services department. He was hesitating because the call might shift his focus from the job in hand.
By that time, a colorfully painted van appeared, displaying the name Little Abode for Children, on its flanks. A young woman along with an old woman stepped out of the van. They interacted with the children and all the children boarded the van. Nathan made a note about the event.
He visited Little Abode for Children the very next day. It was linked to the missing woman, Teressa LeRoy. At the office and shelter of Little Abode for Children Nathan was received by Samantha. She used to volunteer there thrice a week. For a paid job, she used to work at Grand Electricals and Finances based at Milwaukee. Her husband used to be an engineer, with Kenosha City Council. They had three children together.
Samantha told Nathan, “It was Teressa’s brainchild. She used to be here before going to work for the library five days a week and after her shift at the library is over. She is, was, the heart of the center. First kid she rescued on a wintry night was Melissa. Teressa was herself a student then. Her elder sister, Ellen, works for the city Child Services Department. The two sisters partnered in this endeavor. Later, their entire family and extended family, friends joined hands. We even had a gala ….. Everything has changed that night. The children are still reeling in shock. Jack has stopped stepping outside home. He probably feels guilty.”
The story of creating Little Abode for Children filled Nathan’s heart with warmth. He enrolled to be a volunteer.
However, Nathan needed to know more about Jack. Hence, he asked Samantha about Jack’s address. Jack was then living with Mrs. Kirk.
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