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Grimm suddenly sat up and in the process transformed from a friendly dog being petted to the war hound that he truly was.
“Whoa,” said Joe, “slow down.”
Lilah growled low in her throat. So did Grimm.
But Joe chuckled and shook his head. “I’m a lot of things, kid, but I’m not a bounty hunter. Never felt the calling. That’s more Tom Imura’s gig than mine.”
He clicked his tongue. “Grimm, down and easy.”
The dog’s attitude instantly changed, this time reverting back to lazy dog. He sat and pretended to look as innocent as a puppy.
“I guessed who you are because I’ve lived out in the Ruin since everything went to hell, kid, and I spent a fair amount of time in central California. Everyone round those parts knows the story of the Lost Girl. Tom Imura spent some time looking for you. Guess he found you.”
“How did you know Tom?” Lilah asked suspiciously.
“We’ve known each other off and on for eight, ten years. We had some friends in common, once upon a time. And back before First Night I even knew his uncle, Sam. We worked together for a bit. Tom takes after him. Same kind of cool smarts, same kind of integrity. After the zoms rose, I was back and forth between the Nine Towns for a while. This was early on, when they were just getting settled, but I got bored and moved on. Haven’t been back there in years now.”
“Was Tom a friend of yours?”
Then Joe narrowed his eyes. “You keep putting Tom in the past tense. Why? Has something happened to him?”
Lilah said nothing, but she could feel her eyes filling with tears.
“What happened to Tom?” asked Joe. Then understanding and pain flickered in his eyes. “Ah . . . jeez. How’d it happen? Walkers finally get him?”
“No,” she said. “He was murdered.”
Lilah told him about Tom’s fight with the Matthias clan. About the destruction of Gameland, and about the murder of Tom Imura by the madman Preacher Jack. When she was done, Joe got up and walked over to a small table and leaned on it, his shoulders slumping. Grimm caught the sudden shift in mood and whined a little.
“You know,” said Joe thickly, “after all the death I’ve seen—before and after First Night—after all the times I’ve pulled a trigger, after all the comrades I’ve buried, and all the people I’ve seen go down in blood and pain, you’d think that another death wouldn’t mean a thing to me. You’d think that I’d have too many calluses.” He shook his head. “But . . . Tom Imura. Damn.”
When he turned back to her, Joe looked ten years older. His face was drawn, his eyes dark with loss.
“Long time ago,” he said, “Tom talked about uniting the Nine Towns. He wanted to create a group like my rangers. He wanted to bring in some people he trusted, people who didn’t run with Charlie’s bunch. Guys like Solomon Jones, Hector Mexico, and Sally Two-Knives. That ever happen?”
“No,” said Lilah. “Those people were there at Gameland, they helped Tom, but the people in the towns never wanted an army like that. It made Tom angry, because it left the Nine Towns so vulnerable.”
“Tom had the right idea. He usually did. People should have listened to him.”
“There are a lot of stupid people,” said Lilah harshly.
Joe snapped his fingers. “Hey—Tom had a little brother. Benny. What happened to him?”
Lilah told him the rest of the story. When she got to the part about the ravine and the rescue of the little girl, Joe stiffened.
“Wait! You mean that Tom’s kid brother is out there right now? In these woods?”
“Yes,” she said. “Benny, Nix, Chong . . . but they’re safe. We have a camp near—”
“Well, isn’t that just swell?” growled Joe. “Why didn’t you tell me that before?”
She looked at him. “Why would you think I’d trust you so fast?”
“Because I saved your life and sewed up your wounds?”
Lilah gave him a stony look. “You could have been pretending to help me for some reasons of your own. If you know who I am, and if you knew Tom, then you probably know that people have taken advantage of me before. Why should I trust you or anyone?”
Joe nodded. “Good point.”
