“He… you…” I pinch the bridge of my nose and groan. “He fucked you over.”
“You’re pissed at him on my behalf?” He barks out a laugh. “You’re a sweet kid, Archy Boy. I always knew you were one of my favorites.”
“Don’t fucking mock me! Loyalty matters, dipshit. Honesty matters.”
“Your anger kinda reminds me of how Mia’s mad at the mayor over there,” he snickers. “She’s cranky on Minka’s behalf. On Fifi’s behalf. But not even because of a crime he committed against her personally. You wanna kick Drake in the shins, Arch?”
An impatient growl rolls audibly along my throat.
“Wind it back and get him good,” he giggles. “Swing twice, ‘cos I had this pair of sweet Air Jordans back then. They were white with the red trim, cost a bomb and comfy as hell. He always liked ‘em, I could tell, ‘cos he was always looking at them. You asked to shoot some hoops this one time, you remember that?”
“I asked?”
“Mm.”Mwah.“Dad was away from the house, probably out buying his next victim or some shit. You wanted to play ball, and I was being a bit of a prick the way big brothers sometimes are. I told you to fuck off, but Drake said it was cool. He wanted to shoot hoops, too. I let him try on my Jordans that day, which turned into him wearing them while we tossed the ball around. This motherfucker scuffed my shoes, Arch! Tore a whole chunk of rubber off the side. If you wanna get mad at him on my behalf, get mad about the shoes. In fact,” his voice rises with anger. “Get that bastard on the phone right now. Doesn’t he know who the fuck I am?”
I shake my head and drag my palm across my face. “You’re ridiculous, Felix. I swear.”
“You’ve gone and pissed me off,” he snaps back. “I liked those shoes, and that fucker called me out back then for being a dick to you, so then I figured I’d make it up to you both. Bounce a ball with you, let him wear the shoes. Even Micah played, which was kind of a big deal, considering Dad folded his thumb back out of its socket the day before. You remember that?”
“Yeah.” I drop my hand and exhale a noisy breath. “I remember that.”
“Pretty sure Drake took a little heat for that, too.” The anger in his voice peters out to a sigh. “Daddy Tim was pissed at Brother Tim. He damn near snapped his neck that day, till Micah stepped in and tooksome of the focus. T2 dropped T3, turned to Micah and fucked his hand up, then Drake jumped in, ‘cos I was already pissing blood, and you were looking for the guns. “His end of the line falls silent for a moment, all except for Zora’s babbling happiness. “He was one of us, Arch. Maybe not by blood, and maybe he was telling lies sometimes, but his blood still ran red, just like ours did. He still limped when Tim lost his temper, just like we did. He stepped in front of us just as often as we stepped in front of him. That wasn’t the badge… it was a kid who chose honor and loyalty over the job, and when he came back to the house the day after that bullshit, he had a black eye too. But it wasn’t ‘cos ofourold man.”
“E-excuse me?”
I swing my gaze around and stop on the dejected stare of a girl afraid. Her wringing hands. Her long hair tied back in a messy ponytail. Expensive branded clothes wrap around a body too insecure to carry them. She gulps heavily enough that the movement is audible. Then she licks her lips and stares up at me through red-rimmed eyes. “Detective Malone?”
“Yikes. She sounds like a baby, Arch. Who is that?”
“I’ll talk to you later.” I drag the phone from my ear and end our call, then I turn and study Tara Prim. “Hi. Are you alright?”
She wipes her nose with a shaking hand and exhales a shuddering breath. “Y-you said to call if we had any information.” She looks along the street, then up at the multi-story station at my back. “Is it true I’m not allowed to speak to you, because I’m not eighteen yet?”
I slip my phone into my pocket, then both of my hands. “How do you mean?”
“Like… My mom said that because I’m not an adult, the police can’t legally question me. But I turn eighteen in a couple of months, so maybe?—”
“You can talk to me anytime you like. You’re old enough to consent, Tara, but you’re also well within your rights to ask for your mom or your dad to sit with us, too.”
She shakes her head viciously from side to side.
“Or a lawyer,” I suggest. “Or a friend, or a representative the city will assign you.” I back up a single step and gesture toward the door. “You wanna come inside out of the heat? You can still choose not to talk to me if you don’t want to. Or, if you start talking to me and change your mind halfway through, you can stop, and that would be okay, too. I won’t get angry or anything.”
Her entire frame shudders. Her jaw trembles. Her eyes are shifty. But she finds a pocket of bravery and starts toward the door. “I need toconfess something, Detective. Josey would do the right thing if this were reversed. She would always stand up and be brave to help others.”
“Confess?” Surprise beats in my veins as I follow her in and step gingerly onto the escalator. “Alright, well… why don’t we find ourselves somewhere to sit, then I could probably get you a soda or something. Then we can talk.”
“A-are you going to arrest me?”
Fuckkkk me. Say it isn’t so.“Do you think I need to arrest you?”
She stands two steps ahead of me, elevated because of the angle of the escalator, so she twists and reveals fresh, fat tears dribbling along her cheeks. “Maybe. I told a lie when you asked if I knew what happened to Josey.” Her breath comes out on a crackling rasp. “Lying to the police during a homicide investigation is a crime.”
DRAKE
Isit in the chair Malone deserted and click through second by second, image by image, as Sylvia Ryan’s car pulls up at a set of traffic lights in the complete opposite side of town from where I’d have expected it to go, considering the starting point—the lane near the cinema where Josey died—to where she ended up—dumped outside town, barely hidden amongst shrubbery and an oft-used hiking trail.
If I wanted to kill a girl, shove her into the passenger seat, and drive audaciously through a city with more than a few cameras, I reckon I’d take the most direct route I could find.