Least Wanted (Sam McRae Mystery 2)

Powell consulted the file. “It started between two girls, Lakeesha Robinson and Rochelle Watson. There had been friction between them. It finally erupted, I guess. You could say they’re competitors.”

“Over what? A boy?”

He hesitated. “This is going a bit beyond what’s on the record.”

“It could make a great deal of difference in helping Tina if I knew.”

Powell appeared to think about it. “Well, don’t quote me, but the word is, Lakeesha’s head of a girl gang called the Most Wanted Hotties. Rochelle formed her own gang called the Pussy Posse. Lakeesha probably sees Rochelle as a threat.”

“The Pussy Posse?”

He raised his hands. “I’m not making this up.”

I shook my head. What it lacked in subtlety, it made up for in alliteration. “How do you know this? About the gangs.”

“Mainly from the kids, though the security chief keeps an ear to the ground, too. Hell, some of the girls brag about what they’ve done. They’re smart enough to keep it outside school, for the most part. But you’d have to be an ostrich not to know a few of them are doing heavy shit outside these walls.” He gestured around with one hand.

A loud knock interrupted and a man poked his head in. I got a glimpse of a uniform under the light brown face.

“I’m busy, Greg,” Powell said.

“Sorry, man. Catch you later.” The door closed.

Powell smiled. “Even the janitor can be a source of information.”

“So this was a gang fight?”

“If I were a betting man, I’d lay money that’s why it started. Lakeesha felt threatened and decided to assert her dominance. Apparently, when Tina came to Rochelle’s defense, the girls began beating Lakeesha up in earnest. Tina was part of the melee, unfortunately.”

“And Tina’s in this gang? Rochelle’s gang, that is.”

“If she’s not in it, she may be trying to get in, based on what you told me.”

“So the purse snatching may have been a kind of initiation?”

Powell nodded. “It’s the kind of thing they might require for membership. A test to prove Tina’s toughness to the gang.”

I took a moment to absorb it. I understood why Tina hadn’t seen fit to share details of the initiation rite. But the prosecutor would learn about it, if she didn’t already know. The information wasn’t helpful to Tina’s case, but the gang connection explained Tina’s behavior. I wasn’t wild about the explanation, but there it was.

“You’d mentioned earlier that Tina’s had problems at home.”

“I know her mother’s been through drug rehab and anger management. Tina lived with dad, while mom got her act together. Not an ideal arrangement, from what I hear, but one of convenience. Dad gave her a roof over her head and no discipline to speak of. Now, she’s bounced back into mom’s care and, from what Tina tells me about the hours Shanae Jackson works, ‘care’ is a bit of a misnomer. Tina’s practically raising herself.”

Powell clucked his tongue and shook his head. “It’s sad, seeing Tina get into trouble like this. She’s a bright kid who deserves better. You know that girl has an IQ of 135? When she started here, her grades weren’t great, but they were good. They’ve been slipping ever since. It doesn’t help that she gets no support at home.”

“It gets worse,” I said. “Tina’s mother was recently murdered.”

“No.” His eyes registered shock. “My God. I hadn’t heard that.”

“I heard only yesterday,” I said. Even news like that took a while to travel, it seemed. I handed him a card. “Thanks for your time.”

“No problem.” He gave me his in return. “Don’t hesitate to call if you need anything else, Sam.”

“Thanks, Frank.” I shook my head. “Pussy Posse. Provocative name.”

“They’re at a provocative age,” he said. “So many of our kids are sexually active by the time they hit twelve—even younger. A lot of them are having sex parties by that age, believe it or not. Many of them think nothing of slipping into a restroom or a closet to have oral sex.”

“When I was in middle school, kids were either smoking or selling pot in the restrooms. Times have changed.”