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Jesse rushes me, eyes wide, a child-like worry on his face.
“My dad,” he hisses. “He fell—he fell and he’s not okay.”
“I know.” I set my coffee on the windowsill, grab his elbow and pull him to the corner, away from the prying eyes of the other people in the waiting room. “Officer Young told me. What the hell are you doing here?”
“I had to see you—I knew you’d be here because I heard about Sylvia. Anyway, you remember you told me you saw Stroud in my neighborhood at midnight two nights ago?” The words tumble out breathlessly, hyper, uncontrolled. “And that Stroud was also seeing my neighbor? That’s when it happened, dude.”
“When what happened?”
“When he fell down the stairs!”
“You don’t think he fell, do you?”
“No, man. No.” Jesse leans in, his face flushed with anger. “Stroud found out about my dad and Gloria, and he tried to kill him. I know it.”
“Lower your voice. How do youknowit?”
“I just do, alright?”
“Jesse, are you sure it wasn’t your mom?”
“Yes.”
“Are you sure, Jesse? Think about it. Your mom finds out about the affair. Gets pissed. Remembers she has a lot to inherit if her husband dies…”
“My mom wouldnever.She’s crazy but not that crazy. It’s Stroud, dude. I know it…. maybe him and my dad were secretly…” he grimaces.
I’d thought the same thing but wasn’t about to bring it up. A threesome isn’t hard to imagine after what I saw going on in that house.
Jesse continues, shifting his weight back and forth like a tweaked-out druggie. “I’m telling you—Stroud found out about Gloria and my dad, drove to my house, and tried to kill him.”
“That’s a huge accusation, Jesse.” I grab his arm, force him to still—tohearme. “You donotwant to go around accusing the town detective of attempted murder unless you are absolutely, unequivocally sure he is at fault.”
“He tried to kill my dad, Rhett!”
Heads turned in our direction.
I glance at the security guard chatting with the receptionist, then refocus on Jesse, my patience cashed out. “Get ahold of yourself, kid.”
“This guy needs to fry, man. For what he did to you, for what he did to my dad.”
Jesse’s loyalty makes me uneasy—and also makes me feel protective of him. I don’t like it.
He jerks out of my hold. “I’m going to fix this, Rhett.”
“No, Jesse, you need to stay out of this. How did you get here, anyway? I’m assuming you’re no longer hiding.”
“No. I left the caves after you came by. Decided to take your advice, go home, and start that new job tomorrow. I stopped by a diner on the way in and that’s where I heard about it. I had no idea my dad was in ICU. I—I wasn’t going to do anything. Told myself I didn’t care, but,” he drags his fingers through his greasy hair. “But I do, man. I do.”
“How did you get here?”
“On some random bike I found in the woods after I left the cave.”
“Where in the woods?”
“Abandoned in a ditch at the bottom of Black Bear Mountain. Listen, I’ve got stuff to do…”
“Jesse—” I call out, but he’s already storming out the door.
