J is for Judgment (Kinsey Millhone 10)

“All three? I thought the one kid survived the shootout.”

“Died last night without regaining consciousness.”

“What about the girl? Who was responsible for her death?”

“You’d have to ask Jaffe about that since he’s the only one left. Real convenient for him, and believe me, he’ll take advantage of it.” We’d reached the interview room on level two. Tiller took out a ring of keys and turned one in the lock. He pulled the door open on the empty room where I was to meet with Brian. “I used to think these kids could be salvaged if we did our job right. Now seems like we’re just lucky to keep ‘em off the streets.” He shook his head, and his smile was bitter. “I’m getting too old for this stuff. Time to go shuffle me some paperwork. Have a seat. Your boy’ll be here in just a minute.”

The interview room was six feet by eight with no outside windows. The walls were unadorned, a semigloss beige. I could still smell the lingering odor of latex paint. I’ve heard there’s a full-time crew whose sole job is to repaint. By the time they complete the work up on level four, it’s time to go back to level one and start all over again. There was one small wooden table and two chairs with metal frames, the seats padded in green vinyl. The floor tiles were brown. There was nothing else in the room except the video camera mounted in one corner near the ceiling. I took the chair that faced the open door.

When Brian entered the room, I was surprised first by his size and second by his beauty. For eighteen he was small, and his manner seemed tentative. I’d seen eyes like his before, very clear, very blue, filled with an aching innocence. My ex-husband, Daniel, had a similar characteristic, some aspect of his nature that seemed unbearably sweet. Of course, Daniel was a drug addict. Also a liar and a cheat, in full possession of his faculties, and bright enough to know the differences between right and wrong. This kid was something else. Deputy Tiller claimed he was a sociopath, but I wasn’t sure about that yet. He had Michael’s pretty features, but he was blond where his brother was dark. Both were lean, though Michael was the taller and he seemed more substantial.

Brian sat down, slouching on his chair, hands held loosely between his knees. He seemed shy, but maybe that was just a trait he affected …sucking up to adults. “I talked to my mom. She said you might be in to see me.”

“Did she tell you what I wanted?”

“Just something about my dad. She says he might be okay. Is that true?”

“We don’t really know at this point. I was hired to find out.”

“Did you know my dad? I mean, like before he disappeared?”

I shook my head. “I never met him. I was given some photographs and told where he’d been seen last. I did run into a guy who looked a lot like him, but then he disappeared again. I’m still hoping to track him down, but right now, I don’t have any leads. Personally, I’m convinced it was him,” I said.

“That’s incredible, isn’t it? To think he might be alive? I can’t get over it. I mean, I don’t even know what that’d be like.” He had a full mouth and dimples. I found it hard to imagine he could fake such ingenuousness.

I said, “It must seem weird.”

“Hey, no lie…with all this stuff going down? I wouldn’t want him to see me like this.”

I shrugged. “If he comes back to town, he’ll probably be in trouble himself.”

“Yeah, that’s what Mom said. She didn’t seem all that happy. I guess I can’t blame her after what she went through. Like, if he’s been alive this whole time, it means he laid a bum deal on her.”

“You remember much about him?”

“Not really. Michael does, my brother. Did you meet him?”

“Briefly. At your mother’s.”

“Did you see my nephew, Brendan? He’s really cool. I miss him, little pea-head.”

Enough of this chitchat. I was getting restless. “Mind if I ask you about Mexicali?”

He shifted uncomfortably. He ran a hand through his hair. “Man, that was bad. Makes me sick to think of it. I didn’t have anything to do with killing anybody, I swear. It was Julio and Ricardo had the gun,” he said.

“What about the breakout? How did that come to pass?”

“Uhm, hey, you know? Like, I don’t think my attorney wants me to talk about that.”

“I just have a couple of questions…in strictest confidence. I’m trying to get a feel for what’s going on here,” I said. “Whatever you say goes no further.”