Chapter 11
Instead of going home, Luke had spent the rest of his day at Underhill Books and Games, under the guise of helping Felix. In reality he’d sat in one of the arm chairs in the corner and stared into space. It was a good thing Luke had filled up on breakfast, because his appetite had disappeared.
Calling Suzy and Clyde, Mikey’s parents, gutted him. They didn’t need to tell him it wasn’t the first time. Mom’s letter did mention the rumors surrounding Mikey’s last hospitalization.
Mikey was such a smart kid. Why would he turn to drugs?
The use of Narcan meant he’d been on an opioid of some kind.
The paramedics had collected some of the white powder he’d found in the bathroom.
Two hundred people died in the U.S. from opioid overdose every day.
Remembering this wasn’t Mikey’s first time in the hospital for this made his blood run cold.
Felix plied him with dinner upstairs at his parents’ apartment, but Gretchen’s cooking had tasted like ash in his mouth. He knew he wasn’t himself.
Back home, he’d cried in his mom’s arms like a little boy when Suzy called and said Mike would pull through. She’d thanked him profusely for saving her son.
But Luke knew he hadn’t saved him. Not yet. Band-Aids couldn’t fix a broken arm.
He hadn’t told his mother what he’d found in the shed. God, how he’d wanted to be wrong. His oath from the day he’d been inducted into the FBI burned in his chest.
“I will support and defend the Constitution of the United States against all enemies, foreign and domestic; that I will bear true faith and allegiance to the same; that I take this obligation freely, without any mental reservation or purpose of evasion; and that I will well and faithfully discharge the duties of the office on which I am about to enter. So help me God.”
But this was his little brother. The baby Mom and Dad had placed in his arms at seventeen. He couldn’t… he had to give Aaron a chance to fix it. To stop.
Watching his brother go to prison might just kill him.
So, he encouraged Mom to take a pain pill that night, knowing it would make her sleep deeply. Aaron had been gone all evening, but Luke brewed a pot of coffee and waited.
And waited.
And waited.
All the while, his anger at Aaron grew. They’d all gotten the “Just Say No” talk in school. Aaron knew what he was selling was dangerous and illegal. And now Mikey was paying the consequences. Luke didn’t know for sure if Aaron had sold him the drugs, but if not then he probably knew whoever did.
He left the lights off as he sat in the living room, facing the door. Somewhere around two in the morning, a scraping sound reached his ears from the front porch. A key turned in the lock, and then the front door swung open.
Luke waited until the door shut and locked behind Aaron, and his boots were on the mat. Then he spoke.
“Where the hell have you been?”
Aaron jumped a foot in the air and clutched at his chest. “Fuck. What the hell, Luke?”
Luke stood from the chair, and his nostrils flared. “Where do you go every night?”
“None of your business.”
He moved closer, rounding the furniture to face his brother. “Cut the shit, Aaron. I know what you’re doing.”
Aaron drew himself up straight. “What are you talking about?”
Luke gritted his teeth. “I found the drugs, Aaron.”
He’d had plenty of time for his eyes to get used to the dark, so he saw the color drain from Aaron’s face. “You don’t know what you’re talking about.”
“Don’t I?” Luke’s blood pounded in his ears. “I’ve dealt with drug dealing scum a hundred times before. But I never thought my own flesh and blood would stoop that low.”
Aaron sneered. “We can’t all go to college, and the factory closed years ago. There aren’t any jobs, Luke.”
“Mom would hire you at the diner in a second.”
Aaron somehow looked down his nose while looking up at Luke, He still had a few inches on the kid. “I’m not working for peanuts when this is so much more lucrative.”
He pushed past Luke, but he’d had enough. “I had to call an ambulance for Mikey Blair today.”
Aaron stopped, then shrugged, his face blank and cold. “So?”
“He was your best friend in elementary school. And he overdosed in Mom’s fucking diner!”
“What’s that got to do with me?”
“Did you sell it to him?” Luke stepped forward, willing Aaron to turn around.
“That’s none of your business.”
“Did. You. Sell. It to him?” Luke roared.
Now Aaron spun to face him. “You can’t prove nothin’. What are you gonna do about it huh?”
He couldn’t hold back his rage now. “I found him nearly unconscious in the bathroom. I had to call his mother and listen to her sob when I told her where her baby boy was and why. He could have died, Aaron.” His breaths came fast and hard, as he got right into Aaron’s face. “You’re nothing but a death dealer.”
“Well, this town is killing us either way. So, you can go to Hell.” Aaron stomped up the stairs, forgetting to step over the fourth one that squeaked.
Luke put his shoes back on and left the house, slamming the door in his frustration.
He needed to go for a drive and figure out what he was going to do.
Luke had the next morning off, so he popped in at a photo printing place in the next town over to get prints of the evidence on his phone. He looked up the address he’d pinned as well, then headed back to Hawthorn Hills.
His stomach clenched at what he was about to do.
But their confrontation the night before had proved Luke no longer knew his little brother.
He still had Mom’s blue eyes, and his hair was the dark blonde hers had been before it went gray.
Yet when they’d gotten into their screaming match over what happened to Aaron’s childhood friend…
that had been a different person entirely.
Unfortunately, it didn’t make this any easier.
He pulled into a space in front of the municipal building, armed with photos and a printed map.
The three-story stone monolith housed the town hall, the mayor and other government offices, and the police station.
Luke sat in the car and buried his face in his hands.
He saw Mikey’s listless face flash before his eyes, heard his parents’ sobs.
Taking a deep breath, he knew what he had to do.
His honor, his pride, his very soul, demanded it.
Even though he knew Mom’s heart would break all over again.
I’m sorry, Mom.
Luke gathered the envelope with the evidence and exited the car, then marched across the sidewalk, up the limestone steps, past the Grecian inspired columns, through the wide double doors.
He nodded at the security officer then took the main staircase down, following the signs for the police station.
A fire door sat in the cement brick wall next to a window. The officer at the window looked like she’d been here since his first-grade field trip. “Good morning. How can I help you?”
Luke stepped to her and lowered his voice. “I witnessed a crime and I need to talk to someone.”
She tilted her head at him and popped her gum. “I don’t recognize you. You local?”
“I grew up here. My name is Luke Graham. I’m Deb Graham’s son.”
At his mother’s name, her eyes lit up in recognition. “Oh my God, Luke! I never would have recognized you.”
He gave her the smile that made old ladies melt since he was ten years old. “Yes, ma’am. This is very serious, though. Is there someone I can talk to?”
“Sure, honey, just pass me your ID and I’ll get you a visitor’s pass.”
He pulled his wallet out of his pocket and slid his driver’s license through the slot in the window.
“You were in Maryland?” she asked as she scanned it through a small black box.
“Yes, I’ve been working there.”
“You visiting your mom and brother?”
“Yep.” He had to stop his foot from tapping as he waited for the badge to print. She peeled it off the backing paper and handed it to him.
“There you go. Come in and have a seat and I’ll get someone to take you back.”
A buzzer sounded, and he pushed the door open, finding a small waiting area with four plastic chairs in an alcove. It must be a typical slow day for crime, because only five minutes passed before another officer came up to him.
“Mr. Graham? I’m Officer Delaney.” Shaking his hand, he noted that the officer looked slightly younger than Luke’s thirty-five years. “Come on back and we’ll talk.”
Luke followed him into an interview room. Usually, he was on the other side of the table, but this time he was the one sweating putty balls.
He settled into the hard plastic chair and laid the manilla envelope on the table between him and Officer Delaney.
“What seems to be the problem?”
Luke licked his lips, and then just went for it. “My little brother is caught up in some trouble.”
“What kind of trouble?”
With a sigh, Luke poured the photos out of the envelope. “He’s caught up in a drug dealing ring.” The map he’d printed with the trailer’s location and the photos of the trailer he’d got online didn’t want to come out.
Officer Delaney frowned as he picked through the evidence. “Sir, with all due respect, why are you turning him in?”
“Because I also work in law enforcement, just at the federal level.” With a shake of the envelope, the map and the final photos dumped onto the table.
Officer Delaney froze. Slowly, he looked up at Luke. “Where do you work?”
Luke pulled out his wallet and flipped the special insert with his government ID out to show him. “I work for the Bureau.”
The officer pulled a scowl. “You’re a Fed?”
Great, one of those policemen. Luke raised his hands in the universal sign for surrender.
“I’m on leave, Officer Delaney. Plus, we can’t get involved unless they’re crossing state lines, which I don’t have reason to believe they are, yet.
Believe me, if I had that kind of proof, then I’d have my supervisor on the phone faster than you could order a milkshake at The Busy Bee. ”
Delaney flipped through the pictures again, then shoved them back into the envelope. “This trailer is outside our jurisdiction. We can’t help you.”
“My mother’s house isn’t.” He pointed at the photo of the drugs in Aaron’s crate as Delaney put it away. “That’s where this photo was taken.”
His face reddened and he spat his next words. “I said, we cannot help you, Agent Graham.” He handed Luke the envelope, then opened the door and gestured for Luke to go. “Good day, sir.”
“Let me speak to your chief.”
“Chief MacNeil is in a meeting with the mayor and can’t be disturbed.”
“Perfect. I’m sure the mayor would be interested in this as well.” As he stood to make good on his threat, Delaney grabbed his arm and practically threw him towards the front door.
“As I said, this is out of our jurisdiction. The Chief will not speak with you. Now leave.”
What the hell? Confused, and a bit dazed, Luke watched as Delaney spun on his heel and walked back the way he’d come.
“I don’t understand,” he murmured to himself.
“Luke?”
He turned toward the familiar voice and caught sight of a tall man in a sheriff’s uniform. “Gabe?”
“I thought that was you.” His former football teammate clapped him on the shoulder, then dropped his voice. “We can’t talk here.”
Now Luke was really confused. Gabe leaned back a bit and threw an arm around his shoulder.
“It’s been forever, man,” he spoke at a normal volume. “I didn’t know you were in town.”
“Yeah, visiting Mom and Aaron for a bit while I’m between assignments.” Gabe was leading him back to the entrance. Luke started to pull away, to find someone else who gave a shit, but Gabe held on and whispered fiercely.
“Not here.” He waved to the woman manning the door. “Dotty, looking beautiful as ever.”
“Gabriel, you dog.” But Dotty fluffed her gray curls, anyway.
“When are you going to run away with me?”
She snorted as she buzzed them back through the door. “What would I do with a young buck like you? Don’t you cause any trouble, now.”
“No, ma’am.” He flashed her that infamous Delgado grin that had all the girls in high school, and some of the guys, swooning.
Once they were free of the precinct, Luke thought Gabe would release him. Not so. “Listen, I’m starving. Why don’t we catch up over lunch?”
“As long as the diner’s okay. I have to relieve Shorty this afternoon.”
Gabe scoffed. “Is the diner okay? Does a bear shit in the woods?”
With their plan in place, Luke followed Gabe down the sidewalk. “When did you become Sherriff?”
“I’m just a deputy. Been working at the county sheriff’s office for…” His voice trailed off as he thought about it. “Ten years now. What have you been up to?”
“I work for the FBI.”
“No shit? What’s that like?”
Luke scrubbed a hand over his head and chuckled. “Classified.”
Gabe laughed. “Come on. We need privacy.”
“Well, that’s one perk of being the owner’s son. I have a key to the office since she’s out of commission.”
Maggie was behind the counter, entering a check into the cash register. “Hey, Maggie.”
“Luke! Hi.” Her face brightened when she saw him, and warmth suffused his chest. It snuffed out just as quickly, though, when she saw who he was with. He could almost see the walls go up as she spied Gabe’s uniform.
“Maggie, this is my friend Gabe Delgado. Gabe, this is Maggie, our newest hire.”
“Nice to meet you.” He noticed she didn’t offer to shake Gabe’s hand.
Gabe tipped his hat. “The pleasure is mine,” he purred. Luke would have glared at him for flirting with her, if it had any effect. In fact, it had the opposite effect it had on every other red-blooded woman. Maggie froze, turning instead to Luke.
“Just the two of you?”
He couldn’t help but puff his chest out at having all her attention on him. “Yes, but we have some catching up to do. Would you bring our food to the office?”
“Sure thing. What’ll it be?”
They rattled off their orders, and she poured their drinks and placed the glasses on the counter. “I’ll put this in for you, Luke.”
“Thanks, Mags.” She returned his grin with that shy little smile and hurried over to put the ticket in to Shorty. Her behavior made him curious, but he’d have to think about that later.
Gabe followed him to Mom’s office, carrying the beverages and some straws.
Luke unlocked the door and flipped on the light.
Thank goodness Mom was meticulous about her paperwork.
With her work laptop at the house, they had plenty of space to eat at the desk.
Luke took the office chair behind the desk, and Gabe took the chair in front.
“How much of that conversation did you overhear?”