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[ Pobierz całość w formacie PDF ] saying anything. As for the woman on the other end of the line, she d gone so quiet Jamie thought sure she d hung up. Finally, she said, Okay, then. If what you say is true, tell me the name of this so-called friend you re trying to find out about? I know most of Mitch s friends, and if he knows your buddy, then I can almost guarantee I know him, too. Jamie took a deep breath. His name was Ben Lewis. Jamie heard a loud noise and them a kind of scrambling, the sound of the phone being dropped. When the woman picked back up, she sounded as angry as ever, but there was a new element in her voice: fear. She said, Is this some kind of sick joke? And what do you mean his name was Ben Lewis? Has something happened to Ben? Jamie s heart started pounding in his chest. Wait a minute. You knew Ben? Of course I know him. Ben Lewis is my brother. Chapter Thirteen The narrow, white frame-house was nice enough, Dillon supposed, but there was something about this whole thing that just didn t feel right. Ben had a sister? If that was true, then why hadn t Ben ever mentioned her to Jamie before? And where did Mitchell Harding fit into all this? Jamie seemed to be having his own reservations, if his hesitancy to open the gate of the chain-link fence surrounding the property was any indication. Dillon put his hand on Jamie s shoulder. We don t have to do this, you know. We can always get back in the car and just go. Jamie shook his head. I have to at least hear what this woman has to say. Dillon nodded, but didn t say anything as he watched Jamie open the gate. He couldn t say he understood, exactly, but this was Jamie s call, and Dillon was either gonna support him in this or die trying. Jamie pushed the gate open and walked up the cracked sidewalk, Dillon following directly behind. After a moment s pause, Jamie stepped up onto the two-step stoop and rang the bell. Dillon did a double take when he saw the woman who answered the door. Though she was obviously older than Ben, there was no doubt this lady was his sister. She was shorter than her brother, maybe five-four, five-five, but the similarities were undeniable. Same inky-black hair though hers was worn in a pixie-like bob same chocolate brown eyes. But unlike the warmth Dillon had seen in Ben s eyes every time they rested on Jamie, this lady s eyes held nothing but distrust, maybe even a hint of contempt. Nevertheless, she opened the door a little bit wider and allowed them entrance. I m Lily Harding. You re James Walker, Ben s friend? Jamie stuck out his hand. That s right. And this is my partner, Dillon Carver. She shook his hand, but raised her brows. Partner? Ain t you a little young to be a cop? Jamie shook his head. I m not. Not a cop, I mean. Dillon could tell that Jamie was getting flustered. He always stammered a little bit when he got upset. Dillon reached for Jamie s left hand at the same time as Jamie said, When I say that Dillon is my partner, I mean we re together. He s my boyfriend. Lily looked down at their joined hands and snorted. Fags. I should a known, you being friends of Ben s and all. It figures. Dillon started to say something, but Jamie stopped him with a shake of the head. Turning back to Lily, Jamie said, I take it you didn t like the fact that Ben was gay. Lily sighed and led them into the box-shaped living room. You might as well sit. She waited while Jamie and Dillon got settled on a slip-covered sofa and then took a seat herself on a nearby recliner. Facing them with more than a little animosity, she said, To answer your question, no I ain t happy that Ben thought he was a homo, but I can see why he believed he was, after what Burke forced him to do. She curled her heavily painted lips. Fucking guys for money from age thirteen on. I mean, it d been okay if he d been fucking girls or something, but guys humping guys just ain t natural. It s no wonder Ben thought he was queer. Thank God Mitch knows the score. He knows he ain t bent. Dillon couldn t remember ever wanting to get out of a place any worse than he did this one. Jamie showed no signs of budging, though. He leaned forward and said, Look, Ms. Harding, I really need to speak with Mitchell. If you could just tell me how to get in touch with him I ain t heard from Mitch in three days. He gave the cops my name and address when Burke bit the big one, but he ain t been around. Don t have no use for me, I guess. Some brother he is, huh? Brother? That s when Dillon spoke up. Wait a minute. I thought Mitchell was you husband. You mean he s your brother, too? Ben s brother? Lilly gave Dillon a look that suggested she didn t find him especially bright. That s what I just said, ain t it? Half-brother, though. Me, Ben, and Mitch all had the same mama, but God knows who our daddies was. Mama got around, if you know what I mean. Mitch and me, we go by Harding, Mama s maiden name. Ben s last name was Lewis, after the guy the old lady was married too for five minutes before the kid was born. Not that her husband was Ben s daddy. That honor could ve gone to any one of Mama s regular johns. She narrowed her eyes and trained them on Jamie. You said on the phone somethin s happened to Ben? Dillon could tell that Jamie was searching for the right words, but he really didn t think Lily Harding was gonna take the news of Ben s death all that hard. Despite her name, fragile little flower, she wasn t. Finally, Jamie said, I don t know how to tell you this, but Ben was killed. The only real show of emotion Lily displayed when informed of her brother s death was a brief closing of her eyes, and Dillon was pretty sure that particular show of respect was done more for their benefit than in any real display of grief. After a second, she opened them back up and said, So, what happened to him? One of his fuck buddies whack him or what? Dillon could see how shaken Jamie was by Lily s reaction, but he was proud of the way Jamie managed to hide it. The working theory is that Ben was killed by a drunk driver. And you ain t buying it? Jamie returned Lily s stare, keeping his gaze level. No, I m not. That s why I wanted to talk to Mitchell. I thought maybe he could help me out. I had no idea Ben and Mitchell were brothers. As far as I knew, Ben didn t have any family. Yeah, well, I ain t surprised the ungrateful little bastard never told you about us. I swear, you bust your tail to raise a guy, and then he turns his back on you like you was dirt. Jamie leaned forward on the couch. What do you mean, you raised Ben? I thought he was placed into foster care early on. Lily shook her head. Nah. Ben was ten when our old lady snagged herself the wrong john one night and ended up in the morgue instead of the local no-tell-motel. I was twenty, so the state turned Ben over to me. Since Mitch was just twelve, I got saddled with him, too. You don t know how many times I wished he d been older so he could have gotten his ass a job and supported us. Dillon narrowed his eyes. So you could be what, a stay-at-home-mom? Lily curled her lip. Hey, I worked. Been turning tricks for years. My old lady, she had enough regular customers to pay the rent. I guess you could say I inherited em when she died. [ Pobierz całość w formacie PDF ] |