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“I’m Matt Donnelly, EMS. Sorry I couldn’t have reached out sooner. I meant to after getting Mr. Sterne to the hospital. Unfortunately, on the way back to the station, a bus crashed into a freight truck. We were on the scene and had to pitch in. First chance I got; I called in.”
“Thanks for that. Turns out, Mr. Sterne’s injuries were severe, and he’s passed away. If you hadn’t stepped forward, it wouldn’t have come to our attention that someone could identify the shooter.”
“Probably because the kid didn’t go to that school according to Sterne. He just lived in Sterne’s neighborhood. I believe he said across from him.”
Excited now, Beau questioned the exhausted medic. “Can you tell us exactly what he shared?”
“Sure. Man was seriously injured so he couldn’t speak for long before he passed out. What he said was that he wasn’t shocked that Billy turned out so badly. In the past, no one but him seemed to notice the boy needed help. When I asked him how he knew this Billy, he said he lived across from him and they talked sometimes.”
Lori asked, “Did he mention the boy’s last name?”
“No. Pretty much all he said… other than he loved his family. Then he began praying and lost consciousness.”
“You’ve been a big help, man. Thanks for coming forward.”
“Just sorry to have taken so long. Have they caught the kid… this Billy yet?”
“No. We had no real leads till now. No one recognized him, and it makes sense since he didn’t go to that school.”
Lori reflected out loud. “No, but maybe JR did.”
Chapter Twenty-nine
Minutes later, Beau didn’t argue with Lori about going somewhere to eat with him before going home. He just walked her to her car and accepted her abrupt good night as she slid into the driver’s seat and started the engine.
Sliding down the window, she gave a little wave. “See you back here early. We can follow up on Billy then.” She closed the window and began to drive away. A few feet further on, he saw the brake lights flash abruptly for no particular reason but just for a few seconds before gliding away once again.
He headed for his own vehicle, got inside, and clenched the wheel. It had taken everything he had to stop from begging. He’d wanted to go with her, share some hot buttered toast, and climb into her bed to make love and cuddle the darkness away. The same darkness that held nightly horrors he refused to face.
Sometimes I hate this job.The chant filled his head as it always did when he couldn’t see his way clear to solving the mystery facing him.
He drove into a local drive-thru and ordered a toasted BLT with a coffee – decaf. Later, in his own living room, he looked around and saw just how empty the place looked. Oh, there was furniture and pictures on the wall and even rugs on the floor… all organized by Rachel and Mellie years before.
When he hadn’t fixed the place up to their liking, they’d refused to let him live in a slum as they called it. So they’d put their heads together and gave him a fairly nice place to call his own. Except it didn’t feel like a home… not like Lori’s had.
Pulling out his phone, he sat down right then and got online. In a few seconds, he’d made the purchase and a fancy chrome toaster would be delivered within a few days. Feeling slightly better, he leaned back against the cushions and started drifting off. Fighting against the weariness, knowing from prior experience that sleeping on the uncomfortable couch would mean sore muscles the next day, he stood and weaved his way down the hall.
Heading into his bedroom, he opened the door. Heavy breathing stopped him from entering. Glad he still wore his Glock, he retrieved it, clutching it in both hands and flipped on the overhead light.
Mellie didn’t even flinch.
***
The next morning, he woke early as usual. Laying on the couch, blankets on the floor, he pulled them back over him and dialed his best friend. “Hey, Luke, you missing something?”
Still sleepy, Luke muttered, “Just a man I used to call a buddy. Now I’m thinking of organizing a hit on the asshole. Get him outta my life so the bastard won’t call me in the middle of the night.”
“Hey, pal. You don’t know how close I came to doing just that. Oops gotta go. Sorry to disturb.”
Mellie stood in front of him, the edge of her palm waving across her throat, signaling him to shut the call down.
Dropping the phone on his belly, he put his arm behind his head and glared. “You wanna tell me what’s going on?”
“You can’t tell them I’m here. They think I spent the night with Leanne.”
“Why didn’t you just say you’d be with me?”
“Because they’d have wanted to speak with you, and surprise!!! You weren’t here.”
