BooksBarbecue
Back Parting Shot Save as PDF
Chapters (68)
  1. Dedication
  2. Title Page
  3. Contents
  4. One
  5. Two
  6. Three
  7. Four
  8. Five
  9. Six
  10. Seven
  11. Eight
  12. Nine
  13. Ten
  14. Eleven
  15. Thirteen
  16. Fourteen
  17. Fifteen
  18. Sixteen
  19. Seventeen
  20. Eighteen
  21. Nineteen
  22. Twenty
  23. Twenty-One
  24. Twenty-Two
  25. Twenty-Three
  26. Twenty-Four
  27. Twenty-Five
  28. Twenty-Six
  29. Twenty-Seven
  30. Twenty-Eight
  31. Twenty-Nine
  32. Thirty
  33. Thirty-One
  34. Thirty-Two
  35. Thirty-Three
  36. Thirty-Four
  37. Thirty-Five
  38. Thirty-Six
  39. Thirty-Seven
  40. Thirty-Eight
  41. Thirty-Nine
  42. Forty
  43. Forty-One
  44. Forty-Two
  45. Forty-Three
  46. Forty-Four
  47. Forty-Five
  48. Forty-Six
  49. Forty-Seven
  50. Forty-Eight
  51. Forty-Nine
  52. Fifty
  53. Fifty-One
  54. Fifty-Two
  55. Fifty-Three
  56. Fifty-Four
  57. Fifty-Five
  58. Fifty-Six
  59. Fifty-Seven
  60. Fifty-Eight
  61. Fifty-Nine
  62. Sixty
  63. Sixty-One
  64. Sixty-Two
  65. Sixty-Three
  66. Sixty-Four
  67. Sixty-Five
  68. Copyright

“I’ve seen movies and stuff. About guys being raped and everything. There were nights, during the trial, I couldn’t sleep at all. I couldn’t stop thinking what they’d do to a kid like me.”

“It can be bad,” I said.

“That’s why I don’t want you messing around with this. If you start stirring up shit, they might reopen the whole case, and this time they’ll send me away for real.”

I saw that fear again in his eyes. I decided maybe I should lay off this for a while. I pointed at the TV. “See what’s on.”

All that came up on the TV was static.

“Aw, man,” Jeremy said. He started flipping through channels, but they were all the same.

“I guess Madeline didn’t pay the cable bill,” I said. “Maybe she doesn’t hook it up until the busy season.”

“Can we go out or something? What if we drove into town and got some ice cream? I saw a place when we went for groceries.”

I thought about it. As pretty as this place was, I did feel like a change of scenery. “What the hell, let’s do that. I wouldn’t mind hitting a bakery, if there’s one open. They’ve got these things called whoopie pies.”

“Whoopie pies?”

“They kind of look like a hamburger, but the bun part’s chocolate cake, with whipped cream in the middle.”

“I want ice cream,” Jeremy said.

I nodded. “Meet me at the car in three minutes.”

I hit the bathroom, grabbed my jacket, made sure I had some cash and my car keys—I thought of something my late father used to say when he was heading out: “Spectacles, testicles, wallet and keys”—and went outside, where I found Jeremy standing next to the Honda. I locked up the beach house, got in behind the wheel and said, “Shit, I forgot my phone.”

“Oh yeah, so I’m not even allowed to have one, but you can’t go five minutes without yours.” Jeremy pointed a finger at me. “You’ve got a problem. You know that? You can’t deal with your problem until you admit you’ve got one.”

I grinned. “Shut up.”

“You’re just mad ’cause I’m right.”

“Fine,” I said. “I can quit any time I want.”

“Oh yeah, I’ve heard that one. That’s what my mom says about booze.”

It was meant to be funny, but he suddenly went very quiet.

“The hell with the phone,” I said. “How long does it take to get ice cream? Someone wants to reach me, they can leave a message.”

“That came out wrong,” he said as I backed the car down the narrow driveway. “About my mom.”

“It’s okay,” I said.

“I mean, she’s kind of messed up, but I love her,” he said.

“Sure,” I said. “Everyone loves their mom.”

Forty-Nine

FORTY-NINE