David Baldacci - The Innocent

“Like a binge maybe?” suggested Robie.

“Or Curtis couldn’t get out of bed and she had to take care of him. I expect she’ll be in tomorrow.”

No she won’t, thought Robie.

In his ear he heard Julie sniffle.

“Does the owner put up with that?”

“The owner is a three-time loser who’s done his share of drugs. He understands the mindset. He lets her slide. But when she’s here, nobody works harder.”

“So the last time she was here?”

“Day before yesterday. She had yesterday off. Her shift was over at six. She’d pulled twelve hours at that point. On your feet all day is a real bitch. Curtis came to walk her home.”

“From his job?”

“Right, a warehouse about five minutes from here. He walked her home a lot. Didn’t think the streets around here were safe, and sometimes they’re not. I thought it was sweet. He really loved her and she really loved him. They had absolutely nothing. Lived in a dump. No car. No savings. No retirement. Well, they did have Julie. That’s something for sure. They wanted the best for her. Didn’t want her to end up like them. Paid every last penny they had and then some to get her into a gifted and talented program at a really good school. Sara worked extra hours here all the time to help pay for the tuition. We had lots of chats about that when we were working the same shift. And Curtis pulled extra hours at the warehouse. He was a druggie, but he could work hard when he wanted to. And for his little girl he wanted to.”

In his ear Robie heard Julie breathing fast and hard.

His hand reached down to the power pack on his belt and he turned it off.

“You see Julie a lot?” he asked.

“Oh, yeah. Like I said, she’d sit at a booth or here at the counter and do her homework while her mom finished her shift. Then the three of them would walk home together.”

“When she wasn’t in foster care?”

“Right. I know. It seems like she was more in foster care than not.”

“You see anybody hanging around here the last few weeks you didn’t recognize?”

Kosmann frowned. “Look, has something happened to Sara, or Curtis or Julie?”

“I’m just here collecting information.”

“Your badge said DCIS.”

Robie was surprised at this. Most people never focused on the actual insignia.

“You know the agency?”

“We got some veterans who are regulars here. One was with DCIS, so I know the symbol. But what’s the connection to the Gettys? Neither Curtis nor Sara was in the service, at least that I know of.”

“Again, I’m just collecting information. Did either of them seem edgy or concerned when you saw them lately?”

“Something has happened to them, hasn’t it?” Kosmann looked like she might start crying. Several patrons at other tables glanced at them.

“Cheryl, I’m just here doing my job. And if you don’t want to answer my questions, that’s fine. Or we can do it another time.”

“No, no, it’s okay.” She wiped her eyes with a napkin and collected herself. “But I think I’m going to have some coffee too, to steady my nerves.”

He waited while she poured herself a cup and returned to stand in front of him.

“Edgy, or concerned?” prompted Robie.

“Now that you mention it, yeah. At least Sara. I don’t know about Curtis. He’s always edgy and looks ready to jump out of his skin all the time. But that’s just the drugs talking.”

“Did you ever ask Sara what was bothering her?”

“No, I never did. I figured it was either Curtis or maybe losing Julie to foster care again. There was nothing I could do about any of it.”

“She mention any names? Take any phone calls here that seemed out of the ordinary?”

“No.”

“Her last day here did anything unusual happen?”

“No, but the night before they had some friends in here for dinner.”

“What friends?”

“Just buddies of theirs. They took that booth over there. Sara was off duty, and she had her meal free and discounts on everybody else’s. When you don’t have much money, every little bit helps.”

“Did you know them?”

“Another couple. Leo and Ida Broome.”

Robie took a sip of his coffee and then wrote this down.

“Tell me about them.”

Some more customers came in and Robie waited while Cheryl seated them at a booth and took their drink orders. After she delivered them and took their food requests she came back over to Robie. He’d eyed the new folks and saw nothing threatening. While Cheryl was doing her duties he’d turned the power pack back on and immediately heard Julie’s voice.

“Don’t turn it off again. I’m not going to start crying. Okay?”

He nodded slightly.

Cheryl said, “Sorry about that.”

“No problem. We were talking about the Broomes?”

“Not much to tell, really. They’re in their late forties, nice couple. I think Ida works in a hair salon. And Leo does something with the city, not sure exactly what. I don’t know how they met. Maybe they were all in rehab together. Who knows? I only know them from when they come here to have a meal with Sara and Curtis from time to time.”

“You have an address or phone number for them?”

“No.”

In his ear Julie said, “I do.”

Robie said, “Cheryl, did you notice anything unusual while they were together that night?”

“Well, I served them. I was working the late shift that night. I just caught snatches of conversation. Nothing really important, but they all looked…”

Robie waited patiently until she found the words she was looking for.

“Well, they all looked like they’d seen a ghost.”

“And you didn’t ask them what was bothering them?”

“No. I just figured it was either drugs or Julie was back in foster care or it was something to do with the Broomes. Look, I’m a waitress at a crummy diner, okay? If people want to talk, I’ll listen, but I’m not into poking around things that don’t concern me. I have enough of my own problems. If that makes me a bad person, then I’m a bad person.”

“You’re not a bad person, Cheryl,” said Robie. But he was also thinking something else. “You got any time off coming up?”

She was clearly surprised by this question. “Got a week of vacation left.”

“You have family out of town?”

“In Tallahassee.”

“I’d go see your family in Tallahassee.”

Kosmann stared at him as Robie’s meaning sank in.

“Do you, do you think that I’m…?”

“Just take the vacation, Cheryl. Take it now.”

Robie laid a twenty down for the coffee, rose, and left.

Robie climbed back in the car and slid out his earwig and power pack, stashing them in the console between the front seats. He looked over at Julie, who gazed straight ahead.

“You okay?”

“I’m okay.” She stared over at the diner. “That place was almost more of a home for me than my real home. Certainly more than any of the foster places.”

“I can see that,” replied Robie.

“I liked to do my homework there. My mom would get me pie and let me drink coffee. I felt really grown-up.”

“And I guess it was nice being with her.”

“I liked to watch her work. She was good at it. Juggled all these orders. And she never wrote anything down. She had a great memory.”

“Maybe your brains are genetic.”

“Maybe they are.”

“The night your parents were killed they left the diner at around six. But they didn’t show up at their house until hours later, and with the gunman. I wonder where they were in the meantime?”

“I don’t know.”

“Okay, how about the Broomes?”

“They live in an apartment in northeast.”