“Yes, I did. I got kicked out about a year before he died. There was part of me wanted to come back to him and say, ‘I tole you so.’ I wanted to show him and everyone else that they were wrong. After Dr. Ben died…” He shook his head. “I don’t know…I just felt so…so bad!”

“You hung out with a pretty rough crowd in high school?”

Arlington continued to shake his head. “We was just a bunch of bums…boozing and dropping X and other stuff and just being bums.”

“How about crime, Darnell?”

“That, too: shoplifting, breaking and entering, vandalism and graffiti.” He regarded Marge. “Not good stuff, but I wasn’t violent. I never mugged no one. I didn’t get into guns, neither. I’ve always been afraid of guns, Sergeant. I saw my uncle shot when I was eight.” He held his hand an inch away from his nose. “Right in front of my face. Blood splattered everywhere, including on me. I didn’t want nothin’ to do with guns.

“When I think about how lucky I was to get out…” He blew out air. “I go to church every Sunday. That’s where I met my wife—in the church choir. Thank you, Jesus, for giving me a good voice.”

Marge said, “Let’s talk about some of your North Valley friends. How’d they feel about Dr. Ben?”

He hung his head. “We all thought the school administration was a bunch of idiots. We was just too cool, know what I mean?”

“But you didn’t drop out. Why’s that?”

He cleared his throat. “There was parts of school I really liked. I liked being on the basketball team and the football team. I liked orchestra, jazz ensemble, and chorus. And I liked Dr. Ben.” A chuckle. “I just hated everything academic. I didn’t see any purpose to learning, and I had no study habits. In my family, who’s gonna teach me how to study?”

“What got you kicked out of school?”

“The first time that Dr. Ben went to bat for me, I got in trouble for spray painting the library. I swore I’d never do it again, I repainted the walls, and that was that. I tried to stay clean, but I had no guidance and I had no money. Of course, there’s always ways of getting money, know what I’m saying?”

“You sold drugs?”

His face darkened with shame. “Dr. Ben couldn’t save me from gettin’ expelled, but he did save me from gettin’ busted. I was so damn lucky that he was on my side. And I think also that the school preferred to keep everything quiet. I was real fortunate.” He looked up. “Thank you, Jesus.”

“How long had you been selling drugs?”