“I didn’t think about that. I guess the Army would get us home.”
“I can’t even think about it. If something happened to them…”
“Hey.” Jack flicked the sugar packet back, and it hit Chandler in the chest. “Have some faith.”
“Yeah. I suppose.” Chandler took the cover off his coffee and frowned. “You know this isn’t going to taste anywhere near as good as a milkshake.”
“Fifty calories versus a bazillion. Simple math.”
“Speaking of math, you’d better watch how much money you’re spending.”
“I am.”
“You killed yourself at that hardware store every weekend. Don’t go blowing it on dates with uptown girls.”
“I won’t. I’ve got more than enough to make it to basic and enjoy the summer. And, hey, I like Kelly, so back off a little.”
“Hmph. Okay, message received. Still, saving some is a good idea.” Chandler ripped open three sugar packets and emptied them into his coffee. As he stirred, he kept his eyes on the cup. “You know…when I called your house, your mom kinda hinted at something.”
“Spit it out.”
“Well, she sorta asked me if I could ask you…”
Jack had a bad feeling about Chandler’s hesitation.
“Can she bake you a birthday cake?”
“No,” Jack snapped. “I hate Garbage Day.”
“Stop calling it that. Come on, she really wants to.”
“I know. I get it.” Jack lowered his voice. “But it’s not my birthday. It’s the date the social workers put down on my file. Sorry, but I just can’t stand the whole day. I hate it. I’m not going to celebrate it.”
Chandler held up a hand. “Okay, okay. I understand. I’ll let it go.”
They waited in silence. Customers came and went, but no sign of Nina.
Jack finished his coffee. “Listen, if something were to happen overseas, you know, to one of us—”
“Nothing’s gonna happen. I got your back.” Chandler drained his coffee and grinned. “That was good.”
Jack stared at his big friend and waited. He knew part of Chandler’s secret to happiness—reduce everything to bare essentials: the food is good, I got your back, pray before every meal—but he still marveled at the quick turnaround from the subject of possible dangers ahead of them.
“What?” Chandler said.
Jack shrugged. “Was it good? Did you get enough to eat?”
“Yeah, that hit the spot. The turkey bacon rocked.”
“I’m glad.”
Jack waited again. The pause grew, along with Chandler’s smile.
“You know I paid, right?” Jack said.
Chandler nodded. “Yup. You sure did.”
Jack waited some more.
Chandler continued to smile.
“Well, are you going to say thank you?”
“What?” Chandler angled his head and made a face. “Do you want me to thank you every time you give me something?”
“Oh… I get it. The whole prayer thing,” Jack said.
“It’s polite.”
Jack chucked a sugar packet at his friend. “You don’t have to do it every time.”
“Okay, I won’t thank you every time.”
Jack was going to say something more, but just then Nina came through the door. “She’s here,” he said.
Nina was known for her fashion, and she didn’t disappoint, now in cuffed skinny jeans, black peep-toe booties, and a teal cross-front oversize tee. Another thing about Nina: if she wasn’t bopping and moving to a music track in her head or talking—and she was pretty much always talking—she had to be moving, gesturing wildly with her hands or something. She was snapping her fingers when the door shut behind her.
Jack waved. Nina gave a quick nod that sent her large silver hoop earrings jangling, then headed to the counter. Jack and Chandler got up and joined her.
“Hi, Nina,” Jack said. “How’s it going?”
“Jack, haven’t seen you in a while. What are you guys up to?”
“Actually, we’re looking for Two Point,” Jack said. He leaned one hand on the counter. “His mother’s looking for him. Have you seen—”
“Nope,” she answered curtly. “Not since Thursday.” She turned to the clerk. “I’ll have an extra-large vanilla shake.”
Chandler frowned—whether about Two Point or Nina’s order, Jack couldn’t tell.
“His mom really needs to talk to him, Nina,” Chandler said forcefully. “She’s worried. Have you heard from him at all?”
“I haven’t heard from him and I don’t want to hear from him. You can tell him that when you see him. Nobody blows me off after a date. But nobody.”
Nina went to pay, but Jack beat her to it. He handed the cash to the clerk and spoke to Nina. “He hasn’t talked to you since Thursday? Hasn’t even texted? What a jerk.”
“Yep.” She popped the p. As she stuffed her cash back in her faux-leather bag, she tilted her angular face and smiled politely. “Thank you. At least some men know how to treat a lady.”
“No problem. We’ll see you later.” Jack took one step toward the door, then stopped. “Oh, I can’t believe it. I forgot to call my mom. Give me your phone, Chandler.”
Chandler looked puzzled. “I don’t have a phone.”
“Oh, that’s right.” Jack’s eyes fell on Nina. “Nina…do you mind? I have to call my mom. Can I borrow your phone? Just for a second.”
“Sure, hon.”
As Nina handed Jack the phone, Jack winked at Chandler. A look of understanding spread across Chandler’s face, and he turned to Nina. “Hey, I’ve been meaning to ask you. Makayla’s birthday is coming up. Any suggestions for where I should shop for her?”
Elated, Nina steered Chandler to a table, prattling off a list of shops, malls, and boutiques—and her opinion about each of them—while Jack, just as elated, for different reasons, walked toward the back of the café and pretended to make a call. After a couple of minutes, he returned to the table to rescue Chandler.
“Thanks for the phone.”
“Anytime,” Nina said.
“C’mon, Chandler,” Jack said. “Let’s bounce.”
As they walked outside, Chandler asked, “Where to now?”
Jack smiled. “To meet up with Two Point.”
Jack and Chandler stood in the doorway of a shuttered nail salon and watched the apartment building across the street. Nina’s apartment building.
“Why would Two Point come here now?” Chandler asked. “Nina’s still at the coffee shop.”
“He’ll be here.” Jack leaned against the wall.
“Why are you so sure?”
“Nina asked him to come.” Jack smiled. “When I borrowed Nina’s phone, I texted Two Point: Parents out of house. Want some sugar? Come now.”
Chandler grinned. “Oh, in that case…he’ll be here, all right. Very smooth, Jack Stratton. I’ve taught you well.”
They grinned at each other.
Ten minutes later, Two Point rounded the corner. He strutted down the street, one hand in his pocket, the other tapping out some beat on his thigh. Jack and Chandler jogged across the street to intercept him, but he bolted when he saw them coming.
Jack sprinted after him. Two Point was fast, but it was no contest. Two Point’s shorts hung past his knees, limiting his stride, and Jack quickly closed the distance in a few long, powerful strides. And that’s why they call me Super Jack Flash.
Two Point cut down an alley lined with trash bins and littered with garbage. A chain-link fence topped with barbed wire blocked passage about halfway down the alley. It had a gate, but it was padlocked shut. Two Point wasn’t getting away.
Jack caught up, grabbed his shirt, and pulled him to a stop.
“Why are you running, Two?” Jack pinned him to the wall.
Two Point struggled. “Screw you, Stratton.”
“I asked you a question. Why’d you take off?”
“Stop…�
�� Chandler panted as he ran up “…running.”
Two Point tried to bolt again, but Chandler grabbed his arm.
“What?” Two Point pushed Chandler, with no effect whatsoever. Chandler’s eyes narrowed. Two Point stopped struggling. “What do you guys want?”
“Why’d you run?” Jack asked again.
“I heard you were looking for me.”
“So you ran?” Chandler tightened his grip.
“Let go of me. I’ll call the cops.”
“Call them.” Jack got in his face. “Listen, I know you know about J-Dog.”
“What about him?”
“He got arrested,” Jack said.
“For stealing a wallet and using it at the ATM,” Chandler added.
“That’s bull!” Two Point yanked his shirt free. “J-Dog didn’t do nothin’.”
“I know.” Jack crossed his arms. “You did.”
Two Point froze for a second, then his fake swagger came rushing back. “Me? I wasn’t even there, man.”
“I have proof,” Jack said.
“You buggin’. What proof?”
“A picture.”
Chandler and Two Point looked equally puzzled.
“You’re lying,” Two Point said.
“No. See, girls like to take pictures on dates.” Jack pulled out a piece of paper from his pocket. “And girls also just love to post on Facebook. You took Nina to the movies Thursday night, correct?”
“What of it?”
“I figure you wanted to impress Nina Fashionista, so you had to dress up. And since you have no taste or style, you borrowed your older brother’s jacket and shoes.”
Two Point smacked his hands together. “That stupid…” He shifted his weight to his heels and glanced down the alley.
Jack held up the picture he’d printed out. Two Point was standing next to a smiling Nina in front of the movie theater, wearing a white jacket with red stripes, and white basketball sneakers. “This is the jacket I saw the police carrying out in their evidence bag when they arrested J-Dog.”
Two Point looked up and down the alley. Chandler blocked the exit back to the street.
“I don’t know what you’re talking about,” Two Point repeated. “Did J-Dog find a wallet? If he did, it’s nothin’. He’s got no record. They’ll slap his wrist and let him go.”
Jack slowly shook his head. “Did you read that name on the ATM card you tried to use?”
Two Point stared at Jack.
“Stacy Shaw ring a bell?”
Two Point hiked up his shorts so they didn’t droop anymore. “Who?”
“She’s that lady who’s missing,” Jack said.
Two Point went pale.
“The cops put J-Dog in the Bay because they think he had something to do with it. He got roughed up pretty bad the first night. Your mother is going out of her mind.”
“So?”
Jack grabbed Two Point’s shirt and yanked him forward. “I’m trying to help your brother, and you’re screwing around, lying to me. You borrowed his jacket, and it was you who put the wallet there. The cops found it. J-Dog knew it must have been you who took it, but you’re on probation, so J-Dog said he found it to cover for you.”
Two Point looked bored. “So?” he said again.
“Your brother’s in prison because of you!” Chandler stuck a huge finger in Two Point’s face. “What’s wrong with you?” he shouted. “He’s watching out for you, but you’re just going to let him take the blame? He’s your brother. Your father would be so disappointed, so upset. You should see how bad your mother looks.”
Two Point’s glare softened. “Okay. I’m not saying I found it…but what if I did.”
Jack let go of his shirt. “Say you did.”
“I didn’t, but let’s just say…” Two Point kicked a crushed can down the alley and started to pace. “What good’s it gonna do if I tell the cops that?”
“An innocent guy, who happens to be your brother, who happens to be trying to do the right thing, is going to get out of prison, for one!” Chandler yelled.
Two Point tapped his own chest with a long finger. “And I’d be in. They’d put me in the Bay.”
“Not if you tell them the truth,” Jack said. “How did you get the wallet?”
“I found it.” Two Point grabbed the handle of a trash bin and shook it. “And you think the cops would believe that?”
“Yeah, I do.” Jack looked down at the picture still in his hands.
“They’d believe a lily-white kid like you, Stratton, but there’s no way they’d even hear me out.”
“That’s bull—”
Two Point shoved a trash barrel at Jack, turned, and sprinted toward the locked gate. Jack was taken by surprise for only a moment, then bolted after him.
“You’re not going anywhere!” Chandler called out as Two Point ran.
Two Point grabbed the gate and yanked. The padlocked chain was wrapped around it loosely, and Two Point’s slender frame was able to slip through.
Jack tried to squeeze through after him, but his chest was too broad. He couldn’t fit. His hand grasped at the air as Two Point scrambled away.
“Ha!” Two Point taunted, jogging away backward.
“You can’t run forever!” Jack kicked the chain link in disgust.
Chandler walked up behind him. “Don’t worry about it,” he said. “He has to go home sometime.”
12
The Red Whistle
“What a slimy piece of garbage,” Jack grumbled as they crossed the road to cut through Hamilton Park.
“So, J-Dog was telling the truth after all,” Chandler said. “It makes sense now. Why else would Jay not say anything? He’d do anything for Two.” He shook his head. “But taking the rap for stealing from an ATM?”
“Jay’s been trying to step up since his dad died. When he confessed,” Jack said, “he didn’t know anything about this missing woman or Two Point trying to use her ATM card. He wouldn’t have known just how much he was confessing to. He probably assumed Two just boosted a purse. He thought he was pleading guilty to petty theft, just a misdemeanor.”
“And Two Point’s on probation, so Jay figured he’d take the hit,” Chandler said, shaking his head. Jack and Chandler were both having a lot of trouble swallowing the brother-on-brother betrayal.
“Yep. And now it’s too late. Even if he told the truth now—which he won’t, because he would never flip on his brother—no one would believe him. It’s his word against Two’s.”
“What about the Facebook picture?” Chandler asked, looking for an optimistic twist. “Can you show it to that detective you know?”
“Detective Clark. I’ll try.”
They were walking toward a little man-made pond about the size of a kidney-shaped football field. Beside it stood a white wooden pavilion, and inside, a woman paced back and forth from railing to railing, muttering to herself and jerking her head. They gave her as wide a berth as possible as they passed, but Jack kept glancing over his shoulder to look back.
Chandler gave him a little shove. “Don’t stare.”
“Do you see her bag?”
“Yeah.”
“It’s tan with gold swirls.”
“So? Let’s go.” Chandler nudged him.
Jack walked back toward the pavilion.
“What are you doing?” Chandler muttered. “She looks crazy. Let’s just go.”
Jack ignored his friend and headed for the pavilion. Before he reached the steps, the woman stopped pacing and spun around to face him. Her face was thin, and her scraggly hair was wispy. In the pale light it looked like a dandelion that was missing chunks of its fluffy seeds. Jack could see clear through to her scalp. Her hand flew to the big red whistle on a chain around her neck.
Jack held up his hand as if he were approaching a frightened animal. “Hello.” He softened his voice and posture as he stopped on the bottom step. The wood creaked. “I was wondering if I could ask you a question.”
&
nbsp; The woman clutched her whistle tighter and looked sideways at Jack. “You’re not a policeman.”
Jack nodded. “You’re right, I’m not a policeman. But I was wondering where you got such a pretty handbag.”
She clutched the bag tight. The whistle rattled in her hand. “It’s mine.”
“I’m sure it is.” Jack smiled. “I thought it looked so pretty that I should get one for my girlfriend.”
“It is pretty.” The woman’s finger traced along a gold swirl on the side of the handbag. “I like your cap. Red, like my whistle.”
“Thank you. Do you know where I could get a bag like that for my girlfriend? Where did you get yours?”
She shook her head, and the wisps of hair fluttered. One hand went to her head to tamp down the flyaways. “I don’t know where to buy one. Who are you?” she asked.
“I’m Jack. What’s your name?”
“Robyn.”
“That’s a nice name.” Jack looked closely at the bag. “Where did you find that handbag, Robyn?”
“Number thirteen.”
“Thirteen?”
Robyn pointed toward the benches that lined the path through the park. “I count them. I don’t like thirteen so I won’t sit there. I like your hat.”
“Thanks. Thirteen benches down from where?”
“The fountain.”
“Thirteen benches from the fountain heading to Main Street?”
She nodded.
Jack paused. He wanted to ask Chandler to do something, but if he broke eye contact with Robyn, she’d probably dart away like a frightened bird. “Where was the handbag? On the bench?”
Her whistle rattled when she shook her head. “In the woods.” She clutched the bag again. “Someone threw it away. Now it’s mine.”
“Yes, it’s yours. Did you see who threw away the handbag?”
“No. I found it.”
“Why were you in the woods?” Chandler asked.
“I had to pee.”
“Okay…” Jack tried not to make a face. “So you went into the woods?”
Robyn nodded and said, “Your hat’s red like my whistle. My whistle is real loud. Do you want to hear it?” She lifted it toward her lips.
“NO,” Jack and Chandler said in unison.
Detective Jack Stratton Box Set Page 60