He ducked into the back office, quietly closing the door behind him. He remained there, eyes closed, trying to get his inner bearings. He was ravenously hungry. He’d leave, grab a bite to eat, go home, think.
Grateful for something to do, he swiped his denim jacket from where he’d tossed it on the couch earlier in the evening and put it on. It felt strangely light. He looked down: the left front pocket was empty. His wallet was gone.
CHAPTER 24
“My sister didn’t steal your wallet.”
Katie’s words were clipped as she glared at Paul over her iced tea. She didn’t know what to make of it when her cell phone rang in the middle of the afternoon and it was Paul, asking her to meet him at Tabitha’s. Her heart had swooned a bit—maybe another session of no-strings-attached sex?— before shifting into anxiety mode. Though she hated the interruption to her writing schedule, she agreed to meet him and hustled over from the library, only to be confronted with this.
Paul brooded over his coffee. “I’m telling you, Katie. I left Mina alone in my office when I took Tuck to your mom’s. When I got back, the wallet was gone. Frank says no one went in the office between the time I left the bar and the time I came back.”
“Are you sure you brought your wallet with you? Maybe you left it another coat.”
“I’ve torn my house apart. I’ve torn my car apart. I’ve torn the bar apart. I’m a conscientious guy. I know I walked into the Penalty Box with my wallet last night.”
“How?”
“Because I remember stopping at the ATM to withdraw five hundred dollars and putting it in my wallet before going to the bar.”
Katie crinkled her nose. “What did you need five hundred dollars for?”
“I withdraw five hundred dollars every week.”
“For what? I couldn’t spend five hundred dollars a week here if I tried.”
“We’re getting off the subject. I’m sure your sister took my wallet.”
“Did you confront her?” Katie asked angrily.
“Not directly.”
“What does that mean?”
“At the end of the night I assembled the whole staff and told them I couldn’t find my wallet. I asked that if any of them found it to please return it to me, and there would be no questions asked.”
“And?”
“What do you think? No one came forward.”
“It’s been less than twenty-four hours. For all you know, you could go to the bar tonight and it could be sitting there on a table. Or one of your employees could stop by your house today and pop it in the mailbox. Just because no one came forward doesn’t mean someone is guilty, especially my sister.”
Paul’s hand reached across the table. “I know this is hard for you.”
“Damn right it’s hard for me,” Katie replied, gently removing her hand from under his. “Mina’s messed up but she would never do that, Paul. Believe me. She’s not that stupid.”
“She was stupid enough to invite her biker friends to the bar and to bring Tuck to work with her! She’s stupid enough to get herself fired. How do you know she didn’t take my wallet as a way of saying ‘Fuck you’ for letting her go?”
“She’s not that dumb,” Katie repeated staunchly.
“That’s what you want to believe.”
“I don’t understand what all this has to do with me.” Katie didn’t want to deal with this. All she wanted was to finish her book, go back to Fallowfield, and resume her life.
“I need you to talk to her, Katie. The wallet’s got all my credit cards in it, as well as some stuff of great sentimental value. Ask her if she has it. Tell her she won’t get in trouble if she does. She can even keep the goddamn money if she wants, I don’t care.”
“What am I supposed to say? ”Mina, did you steal Paul’s wallet? You’re his prime suspect because you’re such a skank.“”
“She’s the prime suspect because she’s the only one who had access to it,” Paul countered tersely.
“And because you think she’s a thieving ex-addict.”
Paul began kneading the back of his neck. “Katie, I know your sister took the wallet, okay? Now are you going to help me or not?”
Katie rose, throwing two dollars down on the table to cover her tab. “No, I’m not. My sister didn’t take that wallet. If you want to accuse her of theft, you’re going to have to do it yourself.”
———
Katie’s conversation with Paul ruined her concentration for the rest of the day. Leaving Tabitha’s, she’d headed back to the library, intent on burying herself in work. Unfortu-nately, her brain refused to cooperate. She’d write a sentence, then drift off into the stratosphere, imagining a confrontation with Mina. Write another sentence, and imagine Paul showing up at her mother’s front door, begging forgiveness after finding his wallet under a pile of junk in his office. When it became clear she wasn’t going to get any writing done, she came home, helped her mother start dinner, and then went out for a run to clear her mind. She could always work for a few hours after supper if she needed to.
Did you do it, Mina? Did you?
The thought hounded Katie as she wrapped up her evening run. She truly believed her sister wouldn’t be that obvious or that dumb, but you never knew. And Paul! She couldn’t believe he wanted her to go to her sister to get the wallet back—not that Mina took it. Katie found it hard to believe that Frank could tend bar on a busy Saturday night and keep track of whomever might be going in and out of Paul’s office. No way. Mina was being blamed because of her past. It wasn’t fair.
Calmer now, she jogged back to her mother’s house intending to shower before sitting down to dinner. Her mother was parked in her usual spot on the couch, face buried in the paper as she waited for dinner to be done.
“Hi, Mom.” Katie was breathing hard as she moved past her toward the kitchen.
“You don’t smell very good,” her mother observed.
“Neither do you,” Katie teased, mopping dripping sweat from her brow.
Her mother’s eyes peeked at her over the top of the paper. “You watch it, girlie.”
Katie smiled, hearing the affection in her mom’s voice. She was in the middle of pouring herself a tall glass of water when the phone rang.
“Want me to get that?” she yelled. She was always very respectful of being a guest in her mother’s house, not automatically picking the phone up without checking first. “Yes, please,” her mother called back.
Katie wiped her sweaty palms off on her shorts, then picked up the phone.
“Katie? It’s Snake.” He sounded upset.
“Snake,” Katie replied. “What’s up?”
“I thought you and your mom should know that, uh, an ambulance just took Mina to the hospital.”
Katie squeezed her eyes shut.
“It looks like she OD’ed or something.”
“Tuck?” That’s all Katie could manage. Any more and she’d start screaming.
Snake blew out a long, long breath. “Poor little fucker’s the one who found her. I was in the shower.”
“I’ll be right there.”
“Hold up, hold up. I can run him over there on my bike if you want.”
“No!” Katie pressed her burning forehead to the wall. “I mean, thank you, but I think it would be better if I came to get him. Tell him to sit tight, okay? I’ll be there as soon as I can.”
“You want me to put together an overnight bag for him?” Snake offered.
“That would be great,” Katie managed. “Thankyoufor-calling,” she blurted in a rush, hanging up the phone.
“Who was on the phone, dear?” her mother asked as she entered the kitchen.
“Snake,” Katie replied faintly. “I have to run over and get Tuck. Mina’s not feeling well.” If she told her mother what happened, she’d want to come with her and it would be a circus. Better to wait until she had a clearer picture of the situation. How could Mina put her mother through this again? And Tuck…
“I�
�ll be back soon, Mom,” Katie promised, grabbing her car keys from their usual spot on the sideboard in the living room.
“Don’t you want to shower first?” her mother called after her as she bolted out the front door. “You’re awfully sweaty.”
“Tuck’s not going to care, Mom.” Believe me.
———
Katie arrived to find the door to the apartment unlocked. Snake was sitting on the ratty couch. He rose anxiously as she entered.
“I got here as soon as I could,” said Katie.
Snake looked grim. “I appreciate that.”
“Where’s Tuck?”
“In his room. Doesn’t want to come out.”
“Do you have any idea what happened?”
“Like I said, I was in the shower. Tuck came running in and said he’d found Mina passed out here in the living room, and couldn’t wake her up.” Snake grimaced. “I jumped out of the shower and tried to slap her awake but it was no go, so I called the paramedics. She was looking kinda blue by the time they got here.”
Katie gasped as if punched. That’s what it felt like, actually. As if someone had landed a solid blow to her gut, the shock of it stealing her breath away.
“Were you—was she—doing drugs again? Drinking?”
Snake’s eyes flashed with resentment. “I’m clean as a whistle. Your sister…” He glanced away.
“What?” Katie pressed sharply.
“A few times I thought I smelled booze on her breath, but she denied it. As for the drugs, I don’t know, but I kinda think yes. You’d have to drink a helluva lot to pass out cold like that. I think she must have combined stuff.”
“How could she afford it?” Katie wondered out loud.
“Yeah, that was something else I wanted to talk to you about. I found this in our bedroom.” He handed Katie a worn black leather wallet. “Belongs to your boyfriend,” Snake said. “She must have lifted it at work.”
Katie stared down at the wallet in her hand. If Mina was there right now, she’d strike her. She would. She’d rain blows down upon her screaming. Why! Why! Why! Why can’t you get your act together, why? She felt humiliated for defending her sister to Paul. She opened up the wallet. The five hundred dollars Paul said he’d withdrawn from the bank was gone. Katie closed the wallet.
“There’s no money,” she said quietly.
“Look, if you don’t mind, I’m gonna shoot down to the hospital and see what’s going on,” said Snake. He looked almost shy as he lifted a small green backpack up off the floor. “For Mina,” he explained. “I thought she might need a nightie, some toothpaste, you know…”
Katie stifled tears. “I’m really glad she has you.”
“Yeah, I’m a pretty awesome dude,” Snake agreed dryly. “C’mere.” He grabbed Katie into a big bear hug. “Everything’s gonna be fine, big sister. Don’t you worry.”
“I wish I had your optimism, Snake.”
He released her from their embrace. “Worry about the shit you can control, and let the big guy upstairs take care of the rest. That’s my motto.” He swung the backpack up onto his massive shoulder. “See you at the hospital.”
Katie knew she sounded tentative as she poked her head in the door of her nephew’s bedroom. She couldn’t imagine what he was thinking or feeling. Tuck was sitting in front of his computer at a small card table set up across the room. He appeared not to hear her, though Katie was pretty sure he had. She crept closer, listening to the sound of rapid gunfire coming from the computer.
“What are you playing?” she asked loudly.
“Grand Theft Auto,” Tuck replied, his eyes never wavering from the screen.
How the hell had he gotten hold of that? Merchants weren’t supposed to sell it to kids because it was excessively violent. Mina must have bought it for him. A fresh wave of resentment washed over Katie. “Honey, shut down the computer. We’re going to Nana’s.”
Tuck ignored her.
“Tuck?”
“Let me just finish.”
“No. Turn off the computer now.”
Muttering under his breath, Tuck did what he was told. Katie put a hand on his shoulder and he knocked it off angrily.
“Honey, I know how upset you must be right now.”
“No, you don’t,” Tuck snapped.
Katie swallowed. “You’re right. I don’t.”
It was the right thing to say. Tuck’s eyes began watering. “I hate her!”
Let him rage, Katie told herself. If anyone had a right to, it was him.
“I hope she dies!”
Katie remained silent and moved to his bed where a small suitcase sat packed. Katie peeked inside. Snake had done a good job: there was underwear, socks, pajamas, and at least a week’s worth of clothing. Katie closed the suitcase.
“Want me to unhook the computer?” she offered gently. “We can bring it back with us to Nana’s.”
“If Mom dies, can I live with you?” Tuck pleaded.
“She’s not going to die, Tuck.”
Tuck looked surly. “You’re not a doctor.”
“You’re right again,” Katie conceded. “But I’d like to think she won’t.”
“Well, I don’t care if she does.”
Katie glanced around the room. “Is there anything else you want to take besides your computer?”
Tuck just looked at the floor.
“We can come back tomorrow for the rest of your stuff if you want,” Katie continued.
“I never want to come back here again.”
“Then you don’t have to. I’ll come back and get your things. How’s that?”
“Good.” He kicked at the floor before looking up at Katie. “Can we leave now?”
———
Paul entered the Penalty Box hoping to find his wallet lying on a table just as Katie predicted. Instead he found Frank wiping down the bar with a frown plastered across his puss.
“What’s up with you?”
“Not only did she take your wallet, but I think she absconded with a bottle of Jack,” said Frank.
Paul hadn’t said anything to Frank about suspecting Mina, but he could tell Frank knew what he was thinking when he’d gathered the staff and told them his wallet was missing.
“Yeah?”
“Yeah. I was doing an inventory check before you got here. We’re short one bottle of Jack.”
“Great.”
“No luck with the wallet?”
Paul frowned. “I called all the credit card companies just in case.”
“Pain in the ass.”
“No shit. I’m going to have to replace my driver’s license, my Social Security card…” Paul shook his head despondently. “There were pictures in there, too. Stuff I can’t replace.”
“It sucks.” Frank pulled a bottle of Evian out from under the bar and tossed it to Paul. “I’m glad you fired her, though.”
“Are you? She was a good waitress.”
“She was a friggin‘ thief. We never came up short until she started working here.”
Paul glanced around the bar. Pretty soon the place would start filling up. “I called Randi to work tonight. She’s not as good as Mina, but she’ll do until we hire someone else.” He turned back to his friend. “I can help out, too.”
Frank chortled. “I’d pay good money to see you serving drinks.”
“I’m not above hard work,” Paul replied defensively.
Frank looked thoughtful. “Actually, the customers will probably love it.”
“You’re probably right.”
Both turned upon hearing the bar door open. Paul could barely contain his surprise when he saw it was Katie-walking toward him. She’d looked tired earlier in the day when he’d seen her at Tabitha’s. Now she looked downright haggard. Her eyes were red rimmed and puffy.
“Hey,” Paul said gently as he approached her. “What brings you here?”
“What do you think?” Katie was having difficulty meeting his eye.
“Frank?�
�� Paul called. “Katie and I have something we need to talk about in the back. If anyone calls, can you take it?”
“Sure thing.”
Paul wished Frank’s gaze didn’t convey quite so much pity as he watched them head toward the back of the Penalty Box. Paul knew Katie: She’d suspect they had been talking about her sister and it would make her furious, though right now, Paul couldn’t imagine her mustering up that much emotion. She looked completely drained, walking like a woman in a trance.
He guided her into the office where they had once made love, and closed the door. It had barely swung shut before Katie reached into her book bag and pulled out his wallet.
“Here,” she said quietly, handing it to him. “I owe you an apology. Don’t bother to look inside. The money’s gone. Everything else seems intact.”
“Katie, sit down.” Paul put the wallet in his back pocket and steered her toward the couch, surprised when she offered no resistance.
“What happened?” he asked, sitting beside her. “You obviously talked to her.”
“Actually, I didn’t.” Katie’s voice was bitter. “Snake called me. Mina’s in the hospital. She overdosed on something. They took her away in an ambulance.”
“Holy shit.” Paul searched Katie’s face. “Are you okay? How’s Tuck?”
“Tuck is a very angry little boy, and I don’t blame him. She’s done nothing but make a big fat mess of his life.” Katie looked away. “I’m sorry.” Her voice cracked. “I haven’t had a very good day.”
“I can imagine.” Paul touched her cheek. “Anything I can do?”
“Make my sister better?” She covered her face with her hands. “I’m sorry,” she apologized again as she began crying.
“No need to apologize.” He drew her into his arms. “Let it out, Katie. It’s okay.”
“How could she do this?” Katie sobbed. “Doesn’t she realize what it does to Tuck? She could lose him—not that she cares! You were right all along: she’s a fuck-up. I’m sorry I asked you to give her a job.”
“You didn’t,” Paul reminded her. “I offered. Remember?”
Katie lifted her head, wiping her running nose on the back of her sleeve. “You only offered because she was my sister. If it was anyone else with her history, you never would have hired her.”
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