Linwood Barclay - Parting Shot

“That’s gonna be hard,” I said. “I’ve got Charlene’s car blocked in.”

Jeremy wilted. “Come on, man. I just wanted to get out.”

“Like the other time?”

“Huh?”

“Your mom says you’ve slipped out before since you got to her aunt’s place.”

He took a bite of his burger, looked at Charlene, as though trying to pretend I wasn’t there.

“Where’d you go?” I asked.

Chewing.

“What I’m wondering is whether you were seen. Charlene here isn’t the only one who knows you’re staying in Promise Falls. Your entire fan base seems to have figured it out. You just missed all the fun at the house.”

He stopped chewing and looked at me. “What?”

I told him about the brick through the window. He closed his eyes briefly, something that might actually have been a wince of guilt or regret.

“Is everyone okay?” he asked. “Is Madeline okay?”

“Yeah. So where else have you gone since you got to Promise Falls?”

He gave me a no-big-deal shrug. “Just around.”

“Anyone recognize you?”

He looked out the window.

“Jeremy?”

“Some guys. I was walking by some assholes, one grabbed my arm, said I was the Big Baby.”

“Did things get out of hand?”

He shook his head. “That was it.”

“Did they follow you?”

He thought a moment. “I don’t know.”

I reached for another fry. I didn’t see any reason why these two shouldn’t finish their burgers. It’d give me time to drink my coffee.

“For someone who’s supposed to be on Jeremy’s side,” Charlene said, “you sure seem to be picking on him.”

“That so?” I said.

“All of this has been so unfair,” she said. “Everyone thinks he’s this awful kid, but he’s not.”

“I don’t think I said he was.” I was curious that she had decided to speak up. “I just want him to be safe.”

“Yeah, right,” she said with an eye roll. “Everyone judges. The thing is, that girl was way drunker than Jeremy and probably fell right in front of the car. Wouldn’t have mattered if Jeremy was totally sober, he’d still have hit her.”

Jeremy’s entire body seemed to flinch as I gave the girl my full attention. “You were there?”

She shook her head quickly. “No. I mean, yes, I was at the party, but I wasn’t there when it happened. But everyone knew she liked to drink. I’m just saying, that’s probably what happened.”

Jeremy, looking uncomfortable as he took his burger in both hands, said, “It’s okay, Charlene.”

“No, it’s not,” she said. “The whole world’s been so hard on you and you don’t deserve it.”

Jeremy shrugged. “What are ya gonna do?” he said, and took a bite. “It’s done.”

“That part, maybe,” I said. “But you’re still dealing with the fallout. Which is why you, and your mother, need to be a lot more circumspect.”

“A lot more what?” Jeremy said, the words coming out garbled between bits of meat and bun.

“Careful,” Charlene told him.

I reached for the phone on the table in front of Jeremy.

“Hey!” he said, spewing a shred of lettuce.

I lit up the screen and saw an exchange of texts between Jeremy and Charlene, including instructions on where to pick him up once he’d slipped out of Ms. Plimpton’s house.

I turned the phone toward him. “That’s what I’m talking about.”

“Give that back,” he said, putting down the burger and holding out his hand.

“You and your mom really love your phones.”

“She’s way worse than I am. She’s always texting with Bob .”

“You don’t like him?” I asked, keeping the phone out of his reach.

“He’s her knight in shining armor,” Jeremy said. “Her chance at the life to which she has always wanted to be accustomed.”

I kept glancing at Charlene, who looked increasingly annoyed with me.

“I should get back,” she said. She balled up the wrapper her burger had come in, took a last sip of her shake. “Will you move your car?” She paused, then added, “Please?”

“Sure.”

“My phone?” Jeremy said.

“Not to worry,” I said, raising my hand. “It’s safe with me.”

We all stood. I put my coffee cup on the plastic tray. When Jeremy made no move to gather up his trash and clear the table, Charlene did it.

As the three of us were walking out, I briefly unnerved the kid taking the orders by slipping behind the counter.

“Mister?” he said.

“Just one sec.”

I held Jeremy’s phone an inch over the fryer, then dropped it carefully into the sizzling oil so as not to make a splash.

“What the fuck?” said Jeremy.

I slipped a ten to the kid on the till. “For your trouble. You might have to throw out that batch of fries.”

Constance Gaffney had her husband drop her and Monica off at the main entrance to Promise Falls General while Albert parked the car. The couple had not said a word to each other on the drive over, and when Monica attempted to ask any questions, all either of them would say was “We’ll see.” Or, “I don’t know.”

Except once, when Constance said, to no particular question, “Your father might know that. He seems to have the answer to everything.”

Albert didn’t even glance in her direction.

Constance and Monica were still standing at the information desk, stuck behind an elderly couple who’d been wandering the hospital trying to find the gerontology department, when Albert Gaffney came in through the sliding glass doors.

“Where is he?” he whispered.

“We’re still waiting to find out,” Constance said irritably.

Albert stood silently with his wife and daughter while the older couple struggled with the directions they were being given.

“We go which way?” the woman asked. “Follow which line?”

Constance looked at Albert and tipped her head, urging him wordlessly to interrupt the two old codgers and find out where Brian was. When he didn’t immediately butt in, Monica took the lead.

“Hey,” she said, raising her voice and cutting in front of the couple. “My brother Brian Gaffney got brought in. Where is he?”

The woman tapped away on her computer. “Probably still in the ER,” she said. “If they’ve moved him to a room, it hasn’t shown up here yet.”

“Which way?” Constance barked.

Once they’d been given directions, they made their way to the emergency department. They were told they’d find Brian in the adjoining ward in bed thirty-two. The three of them wandered in there, past beds that had been curtained off, until they reached the right one. The drape was pulled shut.

It was Monica who tentatively pulled it back to see if her brother was there.

“Hey,” Brian said. “I was wondering if you guys would come.” He was sitting up in bed, clad in a hospital dressing gown, covers pulled up to his waist. His clothes were piled on a nearby chair.

His sister and parents crowded around the bed. Constance leaned in to give her son a kiss first, followed by Monica. Albert stood at the foot of the bed and nodded sheepishly.

“What happened?” Constance asked. “You look okay.”

“It’s kind of hard to explain,” Brian said. “At first I thought I’d been abducted by — Well, never mind about that. The police don’t think that’s what happened. But somebody kinda knocked me out and... did something to me.”

His family members exchanged nervous looks.

“Did what?” Albert asked softly.

Brian grimaced. “It’s easier to just show you. This gown thing is kinda open at the back so you can see it. Just don’t look at my butt, Monica.” He shifted onto his side, careful to pull up the covers so as not to expose too much of himself below the waist. Monica came around from the other side of the bed, and Albert moved up from the foot.