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“Brother, if you are, we’re going with you.”
CHAPTER TWENTY-FIVE
“We’ve got two of the four,” said Otto. “One damn sure isn’t going to tell us anything. The other one is in police custody and not saying a word. I think we check that apartment again and go see what our friend Frances is up to.”
“I can tell you what she’s up to,” said Code. “Police scanners reported a suicide in an employment agency office this morning. I had a feeling it was her, and I was right. No note, but we can be sure why she did it.”
“I want to be sad, but I can’t be,” said Pork.
“Me either,” said Baptiste. “Although now we’re really fucked. We need to find the other two men and have them in custody in order to be sure we nail Marks.”
Irene and Matthew walked into the conference room, nodding at the men. They had a cup of coffee in their hands, watching as Gaspar stood from his seat, staring toward their feet, looking to see what they might have dragged in. Irene gave her son a small grin.
“Alright, Mama. I’m calmer than I was last night. Please, for the love of God, tell me if there are any other family ‘pets’ I need to be aware of.”
“Gaspar, you seem to forget that although this business is yours and these other fine men, this property belongs to your Daddy and me. We can do as we see fit. We can allow ghosts to live here. We can allow gators to live here. We can even allow gorillas and hippos to live here.”
“Hippos!” he screeched.
“Calm yourself,” said Matthew. “You’d think you weren’t a trained Army Ranger.”
Gaspar closed his eyes, taking in deep breaths as the others watched, waiting.
“I’m asking, please. Are there any other animals I should be aware of?” said Gaspar softly.
“No. See, that wasn’t so hard. You asked nicely, and I replied,” smirked Irene.
“Mama, why an alligator? Why? You know how dangerous they are. You can’t take out millions of years of breeding.”
“I told you. He was just a baby, and his mama had been killed. All he ever knew was me and Matthew. I knew y’all would react this way, so we kept him away from everyone. Well, everyone except Trak. He found him while runnin’ one day, and they just connected.”
Trak was seated in the corner, his chair leaning back against the wall on two legs. He sipped his coffee, raising his brows at the men.
“You are a secret-keeping bastard sometimes,” muttered Nine. “You didn’t think to tell the rest of us that there was a ‘friendly’ alligator on the property?”
“He won’t hurt anyone, and he knows enough to stay out of the way,” said his old friend. “Let him be. He may be useful. Like last night.”
“I guess I don’t have a choice,” said Gaspar, shaking his head. “I’m asking, begging, Mama. Pops. Please, tell me if you decide to bring any more animals that shouldn’t be here. Wait, scratch that. Any more animals that weren’t born on this property. Nope. Scratch that.”
“I know what you’re askin’, son,” said Irene. She kissed her son’s cheek, then kissed each of the men in the room. “You might wanna talk to Sema today. She’s feelin’ bad for killin’ that man last night.”
“I’ll put that on my list of things to do,” muttered Gaspar. “Counsel the gorilla who crushed a man into the ground.”
“Why don’t we go check out that apartment again?” said Ian, smiling at his friend. “It will get you out of here and maybe clear your head. The others can continue searching the clinics, shelters, and the other drug facilities.”
“Do we need to? I mean, we know Dr. Marks is behind this,” said Pork.
“She’s one of possibly many,” said Ghost. “We have to be sure that it’s just her. Otherwise, we’ll just be chasing our tails. No pun intended.”
“Alright, we’ll head to two more facilities on our list,” said Pork.
“I’m going to go visit our friend in the parish prison,” said Otto. “I’ll see if he won’t give me some more information.”
“I’ll go with Pork and Baptiste,” said Miller. “I wouldn’t want them to come back with a giraffe.” He smirked at his brother.
“A giraffe I would welcome. And you’re an asshole,” he growled.
“Yep. But you’re still my brother, and I love you, mon frére.” Miller gave his brother a man-hug, slapping his back and kissing his cheek.
