My Brother's Keeper (5 page)

“You make mistakes.”

“I just wanted a glass of milk.”

“You should have asked.”

“I wanted to do it on my own.” Rudy dropped his eyes.

Jon led him out of the kitchen. Ellis came back with towels and Jon took them. “I’ll clean up this mess, you take care of Rudy.”

Ellis shook his head. “Now I’ll have to make a run to the store.”

“I’ll do it.”

“It’s okay, we’re out of bread.”

“I’ll go. You stay here with Rudy.”

“You sure?” Ellis chewed his lip.

“Yes. I’ve got a few errands to run anyhow.”

Ellis escorted Rudy up the stairs. By the time Jon had the milk and glass cleaned up, Ellis and Rudy were back downstairs. Ellis had changed Rudy’s clothes.

Jon carried the towels to the laundry room and left them by the washer. When he came out, Ellis was waiting on him.

“You sure you don’t mind going?”

“No, I don’t mind going.”

Ellis put his hand on the back of Jon’s head and pulled him closer. Their lips touched, but Ellis only gave him the slightest tip of his tongue. Ellis started to let go but Jon caught his face. He pressed their mouths together and thrust his tongue deep, sweeping Ellis’s mouth.

Ellis moaned and Jon held him tighter, kissed him harder. His lips ached and their teeth clashed. Jon fucked Ellis’s mouth like he did his body. Unrelenting and possessive. Both of them were left gasping for air.

“What was that for?” Ellis said.

“Because I can.”

Ellis laughed.

“Okay, I’m gone. Stay here and keep Rudy out of trouble.” Jon pecked Ellis on the forehead and then left.

Jon sat in his car, parked in front of the large windows of the pawn shop. Inside, a few old men talked. If the store had been a barber shop, the picture would have been perfect.

Selling the gun had been an easy decision a day ago. With the news about Lenny’s new bail hearing, it felt like cutting off an arm. He considered talking to Ellis again, but remembering the expression on his face when Jon suggested he learn how to shoot, snuffed out the thought.

Ellis was not going to allow a gun in the house. Not with Rudy there. But without one, they were defenseless. Telling himself that Lenny wouldn’t get bail didn’t soothe the worry curling in Jon’s chest.

If anything happened to Ellis, there would be no coming back from the brink. He’d simply break. His father wouldn’t even have to beat him to make it happen.

Jon had promised, and the only way he could keep his promise was to sell the .38. In the trunk of the car, the metal box waited for him. The gun had been his friend and his enemy. He wouldn’t miss the .38, only the security of having it.

Bells on the shop door clattered against the glass as it closed behind Jon. The men tossed him a quick look then resumed their conversation.

A man behind the counter excused himself from the group and walked over. Suspenders held up his pants. They barely contained his stomach spilling over the waist. He planted his beefy hands on top of the counter.

“Can I help you?”

“Yeah, I have a gun I want to sell.”

The man plucked a pair of glasses from his shirt pocket. “Let’s see it.”

Jon opened the case. He made sure the clip was out, empty, and nothing was in the chamber before handing it over.

The man perched his glasses on the end of his nose. He looked through them then over the rim while he turned the gun in his hands. “You must be new in town. Never seen you before.” He continued his examination.

“Been here about six months.”

“You got a name?” The man laid the gun on the counter.

“Jon Foster.”

The cleared his throat. “It’s a nice gun. Let me go get my price book and I’ll see what we can work out.”

One of the men in the group said, “‘Bout time that SOB got nailed for something. Should’a been under the jail years ago. Specially after that what happened to the Grizzle boy.”

“The police never could prove anything,” The tall man with thinning gray hair rocked back on his feet.

The one with a pot marked face said, “Yeah, but you know Lenny did it. Only reason he got away with it was because there wasn’t no body.”

Jon looked over the selection of GLOCKS in the display case.

Tall guy added, “The boy could have run off. Kid his age? They do that you know.”

“That kid didn’t run away and everyone knows it. Like that Carter girl. That middle Whitman boy…what was his name?”

The third man said, “Russ.”

“Yeah,” Pot-mark nodded. “That’s him. He had his eye on her and she didn’t seem to feel the same about him. Next thing you know, they find bones out there near the Grove.”

“Don’t mean it was her. Lots of people fancied that piece of land and have dumped bodies there, and Trail of Tears ran right near that piece of property.”

“Used to be a big ole’ home place,” Third guy said. “They buried their kin in the back yard. Enough rain’ll push even the deepest body to the top in soft ground like that.”

“It was her.” Pot-mark shook his head. “Everyone knows it was.”

“Bones was clean and dried, she was gone a week.” Tall guy took out a tooth pick and stuck it in his mouth. “Bodies don’t decompose that fast. Even Richie said it would take at least a year of exposure to the elements to get bones close to those conditions.”

“Coroners have been wrong before.”

“He wasn’t wrong and you know it.”

“Found her ring.”

“Found a ring. Same ring could be bought at any one of those city department stores.”

Pot-mark shook his head. “You believe what you want to believe. Everyone knows it was her.”

Tall man frowned and dropped his gaze.

“That family has been nothing but a boil on the ass of this community since they moved here,” Third Guy said.

Tall guy bumped his friend on the shoulder. “Better be careful, the walls have ears.”

“I’ve lived through two wars and three heart attacks. There isn’t much left that can scare me.”

“You could wind up in a ditch somewhere,” Pot-mark said. “You could always ‘run off.”

Jon lifted his head enough to catch a glimpse of the fear in Third guy’s eyes.

The shop owner came from the back with a book in his hand. He put it on the counter. “Now, let’s take a look in here.”

“I’ve changed my mind,” Jon said. The man’s mouth twisted up and he squinted at Jon over the top of his glasses. “I’d like to buy a gun lock instead.”

“That’ll be five bucks.” He took it off the rack behind him and pushed it over. Jon took a twenty out of his wallet. “I’ll get you your change.”

“Just keep it.” The man’s eyebrows went up. Jon shrugged. “You know, for the inconvenience I caused.”

The man slipped the twenty into his pocket. Jon collected everything and went back to the car. He put the box with the gun back in the trunk. Just till next week. When he knew for sure Lenny wasn’t getting out, he’d come back. Hell, he’d give the damn thing to the shop owner to get rid of it.

Time was the enemy. It began as days and now it was hours. Ellis washed the last dish, dried it, and then put it in the cabinet. Through the opening above the sink, he watched Jon and Rudy play Go Fish. There were only a few times Ellis had won against Rudy and, even then, he had the strangest feeling Rudy let him.

The clock on the wall read fifteen till nine. That meant in twelve hours and fifteen minutes, Lenny Whitman would stand before Judge Hammond for his new bail hearing.

He will not get out.

It didn’t matter how many times Ellis told himself that, he was afraid.

Jon met his gaze. His mouth curled into an almost smile. It softened his features, taking away some of the seriousness in his expression. Ellis tried to smile back, but it felt fake.

Rudy turned in his seat. He waved and Ellis waved back.

If Lenny got out, how was he going to protect Rudy? How was he going to protect Jon? It didn’t matter that Jon was more than capable of protecting himself, Ellis couldn’t shake the overwhelming sense of responsibility to keep him safe.

He poured two cups of coffee, gave one to Jon, and sat beside him. “So who’s winning?”

Rudy raised his hand. “I’ve won five times.” He leaned over the table. “Jon isn’t very good at this game.”

Jon cleared his throat. “I heard that.”

“Well, you’re not.” Rudy sat back. “But you’re good at other things. Like making brownies, and putting tapes in the VCR, and driving. I wish I could drive. I’d go to the card shop every day.”

“You’d be broke in a week and not have any money to buy gas,” Ellis said.

Rudy scrunched up his face. “I’d get a job. If I was smart enough to drive, I could get a job to pay for gas.” He put his attention back on the cards in his hand. “Do you have any threes?”

“Damn, Rudy.” Jon handed over his last card.

Rudy grinned. “I win.”

“Yeah. You win again.”

“Next time you can win.”

“I can?”

“I promise. Next time you can win.” Rudy stacked up the cards.

Jon put an arm around Ellis’s shoulders. “You okay?”

“Yeah.”

Jon’s gaze flicked to the clock on the wall and back. “You sure?”

Ellis leaned into him. “I don’t know.” He wanted to be okay. Jon kissed the top of his head.

Rudy finished stacking the cards. “Do you remember yesterday when we went past the carnival?”

“That was three days ago,” Ellis said. “But, yeah, I remember.”

“Can we go?”

Jon laughed. “You like carnivals?”

Rudy nodded hard enough to make his bangs slide into his eyes. He pushed them back. “They have popcorn and cotton candy. I like the hotdogs, but sometimes they make my stomach hurt.”

“That’s because you eat too many of them,” Ellis said. “On top of everything else.”

Rudy gave Ellis a serious look. “I have to save up.”

“Save up?”

“Yeah. We only go once a year. I have to eat enough to last.”

“He’s got you there,” Jon said.

“You’re not helping.”

Ellis had taken Rudy to the Carnival every year since their parents died because they had made it a family tradition. He’d been a nervous wreck those first few years trying to keep Rudy from drawing attention to them. Luckily, the carnival was so packed, no one noticed even when he knocked things over.

This year it wasn’t a matter of keeping Rudy out of trouble. Lenny could be out there. A familiar dread choked Ellis. His fear of Lenny would drive Ellis back into his reclusive life, only this time it was worse. Rudy would be affected, and so would Jon.

How dare that bastard do that to him and take away his happiness?

No. It wasn’t going to be like that. Ellis would not let Lenny run his life or keep him in hiding. He wasn’t living in fear. He shouldn’t have to.

To Rudy, Ellis said, “We’ll go.”

Jon gave Ellis an ‘are you sure’ look. Ellis nodded. He might regret it, but to see Rudy smile made it worth the risk.

“You about ready for bed?” Ellis said to Rudy.

“Can I take the cards with me?”

“You can’t play with them if you’re asleep.”

“I know. I just like to put them on my desk.”

“Okay, you can take the cards.”

Rudy stood. “I’m going to my room now.”

“Okay.”

Rudy walked out of the room and then a few seconds later came back.

“I thought you were going to your room.”

“I’m gay.”

Jon made a strangled sound and sprayed a mouthful of coffee all over the table.

Ellis grabbed a few napkins from the holder in the center of the table. When he had the puddle covered, he turned back to Rudy. “What are you talking about?”

“I’m gay. Gay means happy. And you and Jon are happy and that makes me happy too, so that makes me gay too.”

Ellis said the only thing he could think of. “Go to bed.”

“I’m going to my room now.”

“Great. Hurry up and go.”

“I’ll be being gay in my room.”

Jon wiped his nose and mouth over. “I wish he’d warn me when he’s going to say stuff like that.”

Ellis laughed. “That was just a sample. I swear he saves the really good ones for when we’re in public.”

By ten, the laundry was done, the beds made, and every possible surface in the house clean. Ellis stood in the middle of the kitchen wringing the dishrag in his hands. There weren’t even any pots to wash.

The tension coiling in his body still wouldn’t let go.

Ellis checked the phone one last time. The dial tone came through loud and clear. Why hadn’t George called? Did bail hearings take that long?

The pantry probably needed organizing, he could do that. Ellis turned and bumped right into Jon.

“Sit down for a while, you’re wearing yourself out.”

“I’m fine.”

“Okay, you’re wearing me out.”

“I can’t sit. I have to do something. Anything.” Even if it was something as simple as scrubbing the stove because he wanted to.

“Ellis, sit.”

“Please, I need to keep busy.”

“You’ve polished the house until it’s blinding. It’s time to sit.”

Rudy came down the stairs with a helmet under his arm. “I’m going to ride my bike.”

“Wait. I don’t think…” Didn’t he just tell himself yesterday that Lenny was not going to rule his life? “Never mind, let me get my shoes on.”

After Ellis stomped on his sneakers he followed Rudy out. His brother had just freed his bike from the storage building when Jon appeared with a glass of tea in one hand and a sandwich in the other. “Here.” Jon sat on the top step next to him.

Ellis took the glass of tea and Jon put the plate between them.

“What’s this for?”

“You didn’t eat breakfast and you’ve been cleaning like a damn hurricane all morning. I’m surprised you haven’t already fallen over with hypoglycemia.”

“I’ve got more than enough fat to get me through a day.”

Jon grunted and pushed the plate closer. “Eat the damn sandwich.”

Ellis took a bite and drank the tea. Rudy headed down the driveway. The bike wobbled for a moment and Ellis resisted the urge to run after him.

“He’s not going toward the road is he?” Jon asked.

“Of course not.” Ellis pointed. “There’s a dirt path on the other side of those trees. It goes around the house and the storage shed.”