Chapter 1

Julie Altmeyer wrapped her fingers around the heavy brass tray and took a moment to enjoy the sensation. She would need it tonight, any small pleasure she could find, for it was likely to be a long and trying ordeal. The party for Henry’s fourteenth birthday was tonight and, of course, her husband was off to L.A.; somehow Julie just knew he would be called away to fill in at the last minute for another pilot who was sick. Sure enough, it had happened just like she feared and, even though it was Robert’s salary that afforded the pretty Jewish mother her ornate and solid brass tray, her luxurious 5-bedroom house in upstate New York and all the other luxury goods that she cherished so much, there were times like now when she wished she had married a man with a 9 to 5 job. All her luxuries would all be cold comfort tonight but Julie supposed cold comfort was better than no comfort at all. Especially when she would be forced to deal with 3 rambunctious boys; one of whom she hated more than anyone else in this world. His name was Chuck and he had been the exact opposite of her own Henry, a rude, smirking and defiant boy, a black child with skin as dark as coal and someone who seemed to delight in challenging her every chance he got. Henry, on the other hand, had been nothing but quiet and polite. It was how he had been raised, having been brought up in a devoutly religious home with two attentive parents, while Chuck was a charity case from a public housing project who, only by dumb luck, won a lottery draw to attend Henry’s charter school. Julie had only known Chuck for a short time but, in that time, he seemed to have developed an inordinate influence on her shy and retiring son. Now, almost every time she came upon the two of them, Chuck would be talking at Henry, almost seeming to direct him or give him orders in a whisper so low and hushed that Julie could never make out the words. Then, when Julie would approach, Chuck would stop whispering to Henry and would instead look up at her with his evil smirk and a light that danced in his eyes as if to say, “you can’t stop me, I’m corrupting your son and there’s nothing you can do about it”. Julie had hated that light just like she had hated that smirk and it seemed like 1000 times she had been on the verge of telling Henry that he couldn’t be friends with Chuck anymore. Yet, short of moving Henry to a different school she had been powerless to prevent the two boys from seeing each other. Henry had always had such a difficult time making friends that, even now, in the whole world he had only had two. Also, Chuck had become something like a bodyguard to Henry as it wasn’t uncommon for Henry to get picked on at school due to his Aspergers. At least, as far as Julie knew, Henry used to get picked on. Now the other boys in the class were apparently too afraid to say anything mean to Henry lest they receive a punch in the mouth from Chuck. All this she heard from not only Henry’s teachers but also from other parents. Furthermore, she had noticed a change for the better in her son. He had always hated going to school; that was, at least until this year. Instead, he now talked excitedly rather than coming home crying with tales of how he had been bullied and, for that, Julie had been grateful. In the end, it was the only thing that allowed her to tolerate Chuck because, if there was one thing about which Julie was sure, it was that she would do anything for her one and only son. Now, whenever she had to be around him, Julie suffered throughout his presence and, even though he always seemed to be influencing her son to be bad, Chuck did so in a way that she couldn’t quite put her finger on. It had started from the day she had met the short and wiry black boy as he had spent the whole time with his eyes affixed to her chest and this had made the pretty Jewish mom feel even more self-conscious about her thirty-six D-cup breasts than she usually did. Julie had gotten used to men staring at the two large bulges that her breasts made in her shirt but usually they did it with at least a little subtlety as if they were trying to keep her from noticing. Chuck on the other hand, seemed to want her to not only notice the way he stared fixedly at her breasts but to also feel terribly uncomfortable about it. It was as if he, as a boy of only fourteen, had been challenging her authority as both a woman in her 30s and as a mom. Chuck’s behavior now bothered her enough that Julie would dwell on him from time to time and she found that, the longer she knew him, the more she felt disgusted by him. Julie didn’t like to think of herself as a hateful person, but the pretty Jewish mom knew in her heart that she hated Chuck. Now he was in her home, only one mere room away and no doubt trying to influence both Henry and Timmy to do something of which she’d never approve. In the end, Julie had to put up with Chuck because of Henry as her own sweet and soft-spoken boy, the one thing she loved more than anything else in this world, had such trouble making friends. He had been diagnosed with Asperger’s at the tender age of 4, a child far enough along the autism spectrum that the doctor said he’d always struggle socially. This doctor had been proved correct in a way more tragic and heartbreaking that Julie had ever thought possible and, until Chuck came along, Henry hadn’t had a single solitary friend. He had spent all of elementary school alone, it was only when he joined a middle school for special needs children that Henry had first befriended Chuck. Actually, that wasn’t quite right, it was Chuck who had befriended Henry and then had dragged along Timmy, who was another socially awkward boy who constantly stared at the floor. So, now she was stuck with the three of them, and without her husband here to support her. Julie had eventually grown used to Robert’s job as an airline pilot, and the fact that it kept him away from home most nights of the year but, during those times, she had never had to tolerate Chuck being in her house with his eyes glued to her chest. Tonight was different though and it was something through which she would just have to suffer. Accepting that, Julie let out a sigh of resignation and then hefted the heavy brass tray. The time for self-pity was over at least until she could take another break. For, despite her husband not being here, Julie was determined throw the best birthday ever.

“Here you go boys, homemade brownies,” Julie said in her best sing-songy voice as she backed through the swinging door that separated the kitchen from the playroom. Yet, as she moved, Julie also pivoted and, as she turned, the pretty Jewish mother could sense that something was out of place. It was just too quiet. The noise that typically accompanied the three boys, even if that was just Chuck talking in a hushed whisper wasn’t there. A moment later, Julie’s eyes adjusted to the playroom’s blazing bright lights and it was then that Julie saw the hulking figure. He was an incredibly large black man and he was also dressed in all black. On his face was ski mask while, in his hand was a revolver, and the large stranger in her playroom was now pointing the shiny silver handgun directly at her chest.

“JAH!” Julie screamed in surprise as she dropped the heavy brass tray. It then hit the floor with such a painfully loud clatter that she instinctively shut her eyes while her arms spasmed in fear.

“D-don’t move” the man dressed in black told her in a low and hushed voice.

“G-get in here. D-do as I say or ... or ... this one’s your son?”

The revolver swung away from Julie’s chest and instead now pointed at her son Henry’s head.

“-or else I splatter this one’s brains all over the walls.”

Julie let out a gasp as her eyes bulged wide with terror. For a moment she was frozen in fear but then she stumbled forward, almost running into the room afraid that the stuttering giant would kill her poor Henry.

“Oh-o.k. Just ... you ... you can take whatever you want ... just take whatever you want and then please leave us in peace.”

“Money ... jewelry ... valuables,” said the thief in response. “Where are they? Everything you got, get it for me now.”

The thief now seemed to be growing surer of himself with each passing second and, to Julie, this was a surprise for the expression on his face made Julie think he might be retarded.

“I ... we ... well we don’t really have anything. I mean ... we don’t keep cash in the house. Everything’s plastic nowadays so ... I d-don’t really know what to tell you.”

“You can start with that video camera over on the mantle.”

It was Chuck who had said that and, when he did, Julie immediately felt enraged. As if the impudent young black boy hadn’t been disrespectful enough; now he was trying to help this lunatic in taking all their stuff. Julie gave Chuck a look that let him know just how he had made her feel and she saw that he had his hands raised as one finger pointed to the fireplace’s mantle. The thief now went over and took it, while his eyes and his gun remained pointed at Henry, and as Julie now helplessly watched him, she heard Chuck’s voice ring out yet again.

“Please don’t give me that angry look Mrs. A. I’m just trying to help you. I’m just trying to get this guy what he wants as quickly as possible so he’ll hurry up and leave us in peace.”

Although she hated to admit it, Julie knew Chuck was right and yet that just made her despise him even more. In the end, if she had to lose all her valuables so that Henry would be safe, it was a price that she would pay and would be happy to do so. Still, the thought of this walking piece of filth, this man who had dared to violate the sanctity of her home, taking anything from her made Julie want to vomit. Yet, what could she do? For the moment Julie knew she could do nothing; at least not without risking Henry’s life and that was something with which she would never gamble. So, Julie raised her hands just like Chuck, Timmy and Henry had done as the man examined the family’s camera, only to hear Chuck’s voice ring out again.

“If ... if there are any more valuables ... I mean ... I guess if there’s any jewelry ... it will probably be in the master bedroom.”

The robbers face now turned until it stared at Chuck and Julie almost thought she saw a knowing look go between them. Then the reality of Chuck’s words sank causing Julie to seethe in frustration.

“Chuck!” Julie now screamed as her face contorted into a twisted mask of outrage.

“Once again,” Chuck now said in a tone that sounded all too patronizing to Julie. It was as if the boy felt as though he were explaining himself to a small dull child.

“I’m just trying to get this guy what he wants as quickly as possible so he leaves without hurting anyone. I’m sorry if whatever precious jewelry you have upstairs is more important to you than your own son’s safety but I, for one, would rather you lose a few precious valuables than see your son get hurt. I gotta say, it’s pretty freakin’ embarrassing to see that you don’t care at all about your own son, Mrs. A. Pretty embarrassing for both you and for Henry.”

Chuck’s hand now reached out and he placed it gently on Henry’s shoulder while Henry looked at the ground. Her young son now looked as if he felt defeated and the expression on his face caused Julie to think that he might burst into tears any moment.

“Sorry your mom doesn’t care about you” said Chuck in a tone that contained real sympathy.

Julie thought she would have felt a sense of hurt and outrage at Chuck’s latest comment but instead she was filled with disbelief and, though she was intelligent, her mind was struggling mightily to believe the events that played out before her. It was all just too unreal. Was there really a gigantic black stranger in a ski mask pointing a gun at her son in her very own playroom? Julie had lived her whole life, up until that moment, surrounded by wealth and safe neighborhoods. Crime, especially violent crime, that was something you read about in the papers. It happened in the inner city and to black people, it wasn’t supposed to happen in the richest of neighborhoods in upstate New York. It must be a dream Julie now thought and, any second now, she would wake up safe in her own bed. Still, even if it was just a dream it was time to correct Chuck for, if there was one thing that Julie couldn’t stand, it was someone saying that there were things she wouldn’t do to save her own son. Now, Julie had been insulted in the most grievous way possible and, before she could stop herself, her rage made her say something that she would forever regret.