by
Liars and Outliers
(Continued, six months after the war with Marley)
“I didn’t mean to kill my father,” the boy explained. “I aimed for his shoulder and threw the knife, but it ended up in his neck…”
The whole story had come out by then. His father had an argument one night with a woman, his sister-in-law. That made her Philip’s aunt. The argument became so heated and violent that his father, who was drunk as per usual, grabbed the fireplace poker and swung it at the woman. Philip was in the room and, panicking, grabbed the knife his father kept under the rug by the door and threw it at him.
“What were they arguing about?” the policeman asked.
“Money,” the boy replied.
“So your father was a gangster, and your aunt was a drug mule, correct?” asked the policeman.
“Yes, sir.”
“And your mother left when you were three, but died in a gang shootout a year later, correct?”
“Yes, sir. That’s what my father told me.”
The policeman looked at Jean. “So that’s the kid’s statement. Father he speaks of was a man named Gerhard Becker, member of a local gang operating in eastern Shiganshina. Died of a knife wound to the neck three weeks ago. Brat’s statement contradicts his aunt’s statement, though. Name’s Edith Bauer. She was heavily wounded in the fight and is currently under arrest, in the women’s prison hospital.”
—— AD - CONTINUE READING BELOW ——
“What did Ms Bauer say?” asked Jean.
“Says she killed her brother-in-law in self-defense. They had an argument about money that got out of hand, she said in her statement. Claimed she took the knife and stabbed him in the neck. Fireplace poker attack by the man is the same in both statements.”
Jean turned to the little boy. “What really happened, Philip?”
“It was me who used the knife. Honest, sir. Aunt Edith didn’t do anything but raise her arms to protect herself from the fire iron. I threw the knife.”
“And then?” Jean asked.
“There was blood everywhere. Father died instantly. Aunt Edith removed the knife and told me to pack up. She took a blanket and wrapped up some of my clothes and some bread and water. She told me to run to the port, find a way to smuggle into one of the ships, get off in another country, and never come back.”
Jean nodded, before turning to the policeman to ask, “What’s the result of the investigation?”
“Fingerprints on the knife were Edith Bauer’s. There were no other set of fingerprints. She confessed to the crime. Her punishment depends on whether the prosecutor can get her off easy on self-defense grounds. Or not. Becker was drunk as shit when he died.”
—— AD - CONTINUE READING BELOW ——
“Aunt Edith removed the knife from my father’s neck and wiped it with her skirts,” the boy insisted, “that’s why my fingerprints weren’t on it.”
Jean looked at him. “Stay here,” he said, before turning to the policeman and asking to speak with him in private. They close the door to the interrogation room and stand outside, speaking in low tones.
“What’s going on here?” he wanted to know.
“Well, sir, gangsters gone haywire, you’ve heard it before. Either Edith Bauer is telling the truth, or she’s taking the rap to protect her nephew. Either Philip Becker is telling the truth, or taking the rap to protect his aunt.”
“Protect his aunt from what?”
“A prison birth. Ms Bauer is sixteen years old and six months pregnant.”
“What about the baby’s father?”
“Says it’s one of her drug clients. Refuses to name him, though. She’s a drug mule, but also an unregistered prostitute. Philip’s father was a mob muscle but also a pimp on the side, apparently. Pimping his own sister-in-law, how about that. Ms Bauer says they were arguing about how to divide profits when he tried to kill her in a drunken rage. She ended up stabbing his neck to save her own skin.”
“What’ll happen if the kid’s statement turns out to be the truth?”
—— AD - CONTINUE READING BELOW ——
“Well, he’s only six. He’ll have to be thrown in juvie. But a chit like that, the older boys will tear him apart within the hour. He’ll never survive.” Juvie was short for juvenile detention center, a correctional facility for young offenders.
They discuss the chaotic and dysfunctional youth justice system they currently had in place. Under King Fritz’s rule came decades of cuts and court closures. Queen Historia was trying to change that, but at present it remained an underfunded, understaffed system plagued by delays, confusion and poor child protection. At that time in Paradis, the age of criminal responsibility was ten years.
“What can I do?” Jean asked.
“Well, sir, truth be told, since Ms Bauer confessed, the case is considered closed. You’ll save me lots of headache and paperwork and hours of further investigation if we just agree between ourselves that the kid’s confession didn’t happen.”
“What’s the catch?”
“Thing is, admiral, Philip’s not an ordinary village boy. He’s a gangster’s kid. One buried in debt, apparently. Loan sharks will be demanding their money back from the mob boss. Boss will want to hand over the kid as payment. You’ll have to get him out of Shiganshina, give him a new name, wipe his slate clean. And keep an eye out for his father’s former gangster mates from trying to abduct him. It’s a lot of work…”
“Well, given his situation, he can’t stay at one of the orphanages,” Jean mused.
“No, sir, those are the first places the gangsters will try to find him. They’ll go there asking to adopt the kid. Directress will hand him over, and it’ll be the end of him.”
They discuss the situation for a while. “I’ll have to talk to my wife about it,” Jean said. What would Mikasa think about all this?
—— AD - CONTINUE READING BELOW ——
He paused, wondering out loud, “If it’s the kid who did it, why’s the girl willing to take the blame?”
“Suppose I ought to say ‘family ties’ but I think that’s not quite the case here. The girl’s under arrest for manslaughter, but she’s also main witness to a killing spree during a recent shootout between two rival gangs. Four dead, including one constable. Fifteen wounded. She’s got a price on her head. Looks to me like she’d rather be in a prison hospital under witness protection than risk staying at home and getting her throat slit in the dead of the night.”
Jean turned this information over in his mind, then said, “I’ll be the kid’s guardian for a while, at least until we figure out what to do.”
“You’re a good man, Admiral Kirschtein.”
“No. You’re the good man, Constable Schäfer.”
The policeman shook his head. “Philip’s only a year younger than my own kid.” He opened the door, poked his head in to see if the boy was okay. He was sitting where they left him, shoulders slumped, looking as if the life had drained from out of him.
He closed the door and continued, “They’re born unlucky, these low-ranking gangster brats. Gang wars, parents missing, kids out on the streets. Grow up to be petty thieves at best, full-time criminals at worst. Whichever way they go, a pain in the ass for the police. Always the same narrative, heard it a million times before. Good you’re trying to make a difference with this one lad, sir. Otherwise it’ll just be the same old story.”
Thank you so much for reading! Please consider sharing a thought or two in the comment section below. Your comments give me life and are a real source of encouragement. xoxo, hana
Next – Chapter 16: The Truth and Nothing But
Back – Chapter 14: Live Cargo
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Ahaha, that’s a hilarious meme! Love the nails—I want to wear long ones like that but it’ll prevent me from typing on my keyboard😂 It looks totally rad, though. Will make me feel like Wolverine, my fave mutant in the Marvel universe.
wow, it was a shock to see that the age of criminal responsibility in other countries is so low! here in argentina is 16 years old and some people launch projects to lower it but they never manage to do it. in part i feel that it is a good thing, children and teenagers should not face the prison system that is already hard for adults and needs several reforms
I think civil rights campaigners in England have been working to raise the cutoff age, but what’s preventing them is a case where two 10-year-old boys killed a toddler. The killing was premeditated and not accidental, so it’s a murder not a manslaughter. It’s extreme cases like this that prevent England from changing the law, if I remember correctly.
My feeling is that since we are living so much longer than we used to, the minimum ages should be raised for many things. But it’s hard to judge because some children mature much faster than others. Personally, for me the age of 14 is acceptable. But those who want it higher say young people’s brains cannot understand the consequences of murder or the risks it involves, because brains have not yet matured to that point. That makes sense, too.
I wonder if we humans will ever get it right when it comes to criminal justice and the prison system.
Can’t wait to read how is going to be when Mikasa meets Philip!!
Thanks! They both have childhood knife trauma so I think it’ll be very interesting when they meet😊
PS. I read your reply to my genetics-related questions. Thank you SO much! I’d like to ask a few more questions later, if you don’t mind😬
damn straight
You betcha!😘
theyll have to face the wrath of mikasa lol
Yeah, Mikasa will not hesitate to eliminate anyone who tries to harm this little boy 🙂
my face when i realized this was true irl
It varies from country to country, doesn’t it. In England and Northern Ireland the cutoff age is 10, while in Scotland it’s 12. In Germany it’s 14. In the Netherlands 12, while in Norway 15. For Japan it’s
1114. In Iraq it’s 9. I chose 10 for Paradis because Eren and Mikasa killed three adults when they were 9 and were not prosecuted for it. Even if they were they’d have gotten off on the grounds of self-defense. But I’m just assuming they weren’t prosecuted in the first place because of their age. I think I need to add that juvie in Paradis is a type of correctional facility and not a prison in the strict sense of the word.