“Soon. I promise.”
The four original Invincibles’ partners—myself, Decker, Grinder, and Rile—had agreed to offer Lennox a partnership in our firm. I expected he’d join us, but first, he had some unfinished business in Boston with a woman I anticipated he’d ask to be his wife. If she agreed, I was certain he’d leave his own post with SIS and partner with us.
“What did you want to meet about?” Decker asked.
I motioned toward the kitchen, so we could talk privately. “We stopped by the Long Branch on our way here, and Bobby said there’s been an arrest in a murder that took place shortly after I left.”
Decker nodded. ?
?Possum.”
“That’s right.”
“He was found dead in the Branch’s parking lot the day we flew to Boston.”
I leaned back against the kitchen counter as the thoughts swirling in my head left me unbalanced. “Fuck,” I muttered, not intending to say it out loud. “Come with me.” I led Decker out the back door.
“What’s goin’ on, Edge?”
“I was there, Deck.”
“What do you mean?”
“I’m the one who killed Possum.”
5
Rebel
“You have a visitor, Marks,” said the guard, opening the door to my cell.
“My lawyer?”
She shook her head.
I wasn’t surprised to hear it wasn’t him. The bastard hadn’t set foot in the jail once. The handful of times I’d talked to my public defender were in court. Honestly, that was okay with me. The guy gave me the willies anyway. There was something about him that was just…creepy.
“Gotta be a mistake.” I walked behind her, down the corridor to the visitation rooms, a part of the jail I’d heard about but had never been in.
She unlocked the door, and I followed her in. When I saw who was waiting on the other side of the glass partition, I wished I could turn around and walk back out.
“What are you doing here?” I asked after picking up the phone receiver the guard had pointed to when she led me to the table.
“How are you, Rebel?” asked the man I’d prayed would show up here for the first month after I was arrested. Finally, I’d given up hope, and here he was.
How was I? I was in jail for a murder I didn’t commit. “Edge,” I said, not answering his question.
“I heard what happened. Listen, I…” He looked on either side of him at the other visitors talking with prisoners. “I’m sorry. I was away a lot longer than I anticipated.”
I shrugged. What could I say? That it was okay? It wasn’t okay or not okay. It just was.
“We need to talk, and I want you to know I’m working on…things.” He moved the phone receiver to his other hand and shook the one that had been holding it, like it had fallen to sleep or something. “I wanted to get here right away, though. I, um, flew in last night.”
“I didn’t do it,” I whispered, wishing I hadn’t the second I did. I didn’t owe him an explanation.
“I know you didn’t, and I’m trying to rectify that right now.”
Rectify it? What did that mean? For weeks I’d wondered if Edge had killed Possum, or maybe Steel, not that I admitted my suspicions to a soul. Had I been right?