P. Parrish - Thicker Than Water

“The Duvall charges will be dropped against Cade,” Mobley said.

Louis still said nothing.

“Why don’t you go get some sleep.”

Louis shook his head slowly.

“Then go call Tonto. Give her the good news.”

Louis looked at Mobley. “Yeah, okay.”

Mobley was standing there, hands in his pockets. Louis wanted to say something to him, to thank him for coming along on this, for putting his ass on the line. But they both turned at the sound of a van pulling up to the curb. The side read WINK-TV FORT MYERS.

Mobley watched the cameraman get out. He reached in his pocket and pulled out an Altoid tin. “I guess I better go do my thing,” he said.

Louis nodded.

Mobley started toward the van, then turned back to Louis. “Next time you’re in O’Sullivan’s, I’ll buy you a drink.”

He let Susan drive, not sure he could handle the roads as tired as he was. She was quiet, but he sensed she was happy. This miserable case was over and her client was absolved of murder, including Kitty’s.

Susan pulled up in the drive of J.C. Landscaping and cut the engine. “By the way, thanks for coming with me,” she said. “I hate coming out here alone.”

“I don’t blame you.”

He followed her to the trailer door and waited while she knocked. He didn’t see anyone working in the yard, but Ronnie’s truck was parked near the shed. Eric opened the door and let them in.

Jack Cade was sitting in a worn chair, dressed in his boxers and a T-shirt. A beer can sat on the table next to him. Ronnie was in the kitchen and Louis could smell hamburger cooking. Eric slumped back down into the couch and trained his eyes on the television. They were watching an old version of Star Trek.

“Jack,” Susan said. “We have some good news.”

“Don’t tell me,” Cade said. “You got me off.”

Susan glanced at Louis. “Yes. They’ve dropped the murder charges for Spencer Duvall. They’re charging Scott Brenner.”

Cade’s eyes jumped to Louis. “My lawyer? Fuck, don’t that beat all? What about my new trial thing and the money? Who’s going to handle that?”

Louis came further into the room. “Brian Brenner has been arrested for killing Kitty Jagger. When he’s convicted and the story comes out of how they set you up, lawyers will be beating down your door to represent you.”

Cade stood up slowly, the beer can in his hand. “That snotty little bastard. .”

Eric and Ronnie looked at Cade.

“You mean to tell me that piece of shit killed that girl,” Cade said. “And he stole my fucking tool? And then put the panties in my truck? Those cocksucking bastards!”

Cade flung the beer can toward the kitchen. It smashed against the wall, splattering beer.

Ronnie had flinched and was still half-cowering at the stove. Louis glanced at Eric. He was staring at the beer dripping down the wall.

Eric rose slowly and went to pick up the beer can.

“Leave it the fuck alone!” Cade yelled.

Eric dropped it and looked up at his grandfather.

“What are you looking at?” Cade spat. “Get out of my face.”

Eric started toward his room, and Cade caught his arm, spinning him around. “Go outside. Get the fuck out of here.”

“Cade, leave him alone,” Louis said. “Jesus.”

Eric jerked free and ran out the front door. Cade stood there for a moment, his eyes unfocused. Then he looked at Susan, who was standing there, stunned.

“How long before I get my money?” Cade asked.

Susan started to explain about how long lawsuits took, but Louis was looking beyond Cade, into the kitchen where he could see Ronnie wiping up the spilled beer. He turned and looked out the window. Eric was in the front yard, wiping his face, kicking some rocks through the dirt.

Cade’s voice drew his attention back. “I think I’ll ask for five million.” He smiled at Susan. “But you can settle for three. That ought to be enough to get me the fuck out of here.”

Ronnie turned from the stove toward his father. “What?”

“Mexico,” Cade said. “A man can live cheap there. Three mil will last me a lifetime.”

Ronnie came forward. “What about the business?”

Cade stared at him, but it was almost like he wasn’t even seeing him anymore. “Who the hell wants it?”

Ronnie stared at his father, then turned and went back to the stove. Cade plopped back down in his chair. Susan was trying to explain something to him, but he was barely listening.

Louis flexed his aching hand. The hell with this….

He turned and left the trailer. Eric was still out front, tossing rocks, trying to hit the pile of plastic containers stacked against the shed. He looked up at Louis and then his eyes went back to the trailer door. Louis walked up next to him.

“So he’s not going back to jail, huh?” Eric asked, tossing another rock.

Louis hesitated. “No, he’s not.”

Eric stared out across the rows of plants, his jaw set. Louis tried to think of something of comfort, something that would tell Eric things would get better. But he knew they wouldn’t.

Eric looked up suddenly. “Can a kid get in trouble if he knows something?”

Louis couldn’t read Eric’s dark eyes.

“Are you trying to tell me something, Eric?”

Eric hesitated, then dropped the stones and started toward the shed. Louis followed. Eric went around the back, stopping at a group of potted palms.

He looked back at Louis, then lifted one of the palms from the pot.

“I hate him,” Eric whispered. “I just hate him.”

Louis looked down. The gun in the plastic bag looked like a hundred others he had seen. But he knew it wasn’t. It was the Chinese Tokarev.

Louis looked back at Eric. “Does your father know about this?”

Eric shook his head.

Louis rubbed a hand over his face. “Go back inside, Eric,” he said. “Don’t say anything about this. Just tell Miss Outlaw I’ll be in the car.”

“No, no,” Eric said, shaking his head. “I can’t go back in there. He’ll kill me if he finds out.” Any bravado that had been in Eric’s face was gone; he looked terrified.

“Eric, listen to me. You can’t say anything, do you understand?”

“No-” Eric started to back away. Louis grabbed him by the shoulders.

“Eric, just go back inside and be quiet. Trust me, okay?”

Eric was close to crying, but he nodded. Louis let him go, his hand lingering on the boy’s shoulder. He was shaking.

“Don’t worry,” Louis said. “I’ll take care of you.”

When he dropped Susan off at her house, she asked him if something was the matter. He told her nothing; he knew there was no way he could explain it to her. He wasn’t even sure he could explain it to himself.

Back there at the Cade place, looking at Eric’s face, he had made a decision. It hadn’t come from that place Susan called his cop-brain. It had come from some place deeper inside him.

He headed the Mustang due west into the low slanting sun. The Tokarev was hidden in the trunk. He showed his resident badge at the causeway and drove on to Sanibel.

This time, when he appeared at Candace Duvall’s door, the maid let him in without a word.

He found Candace and Hayley having drinks on the patio. Hayley saw him coming and set down her glass. Candace had her back to him, but turned when his shadow moved over the table.

She moved her sunglasses down the bridge of her nose and looked at him, then turned her back. “What do you want now?”

“Money.”

Candace spun around in her chair, pulling off her sunglasses. “You’ve got to be kidding.”