Gun Games - Faye Kellerman [87]
“Is there a side of Greg that we’re missing?” Oliver said. “Is he a closet klepto?”
Mikey said, “I can’t see that.”
“So it would surprise you if he stole the gun.”
“Yeah, it would shock me. But so did his suicide. So I guess I didn’t know him as well as I thought I did.”
“Amen to that,” Joey said.
Oliver said, “Greg had to get the gun from somewhere.”
Marge said, “That’s why we brought up Dylan Lashay. Kevin Stanger mentioned that Dylan or one of his buddies had once pulled a gun on him. So if Stanger is telling the truth, we know that his gang has had access to weapons in the past.”
Oliver said, “We were wondering if Kevin Stanger’s case was a onetime deal or if Mr. Yalie has a predilection for firearms.”
Joey said, “I already told the lieutenant, I have no idea where Greg got the gun.”
“I don’t know where Greg got the gun, either,” Beezel said.
The conversation died for a moment.
Mikey shook his head. “C’mon, guys, what’s the hang-up? Everyone in the entire school knows that Dylan likes guns.” When Beezel and Joey glared at him, he said, “Like it’s a secret? He did his senior thesis on the history of firearms.”
Oliver said, “Does he deal in firearms?”
He just shrugged. “Can’t say yes, but there are rumors.”
“Unsubstantiated at this time,” Beezel said.
“Except by Kevin Stanger,” Marge said.
“Who could be exaggerating,” Beezel said.
“What kind of rumors?” Marge asked Mikey.
The teen said, “This is theoretical and definitely not firsthand . . . but . . . if I wanted to get hold of a gun, there are a few people in the school I might seek out. Because these same people have a reputation of selling a lot of things.”
Marge said, “And those people would be . . .”
Mikey said, “I’m not naming names because, like I said, I don’t know firsthand.”
“Might one of those people be Dylan Lashay?” Oliver asked.
“I’ve said what I’ve had to say.” Mikey smiled. “Anything else would be mere speculating on my speculations.”
“What about his buddies?” Oliver took out a list. “Jarrod Lovelace, Stance O’Brien, Nate Asaroff, or JJ Little? Do they sell things?”
Three noncommittal shrugs.
“Okay,” Marge said. “We’ll address the topic of guns later. Let’s get back to Gregory Hesse’s suicide. None of you saw any signs that this was a possibility?”
“Nothing,” Mikey said. “But Joey knew him better than anyone.”
Joey said, “I already told the lieutenant that his death came out of the blue.”
“You also told the lieutenant that you thought there might have been a girl involved in his life before he died,” Marge said.
“I said maybe,” Joey said.
Mikey held up a finger. “You know, I never thought of that, but it kinda makes sense.”
“Why?” Oliver asked.
“He started taking better care of himself.”
Joey said, “That’s exactly what I told the lieutenant. That he started showering.”
“But you have no idea who the girl was,” Oliver said.
“I don’t even know if there was a girl,” Joey said. “I certainly don’t know a name.”
Marge said, “What about Myra Gelb?” When three sets of eyes stared at her, she went on, “They knew each other. They called each other frequently.” A lie at the moment but when the phone records came in, maybe it would be the truth. She waited for one of them to speak.
“News to me,” Beezel said.
Joey said, “Greg never said anything about knowing Myra. Why? Do you think the two suicides are related?”
“You’re telling me you never thought about it?” Oliver said.
“No, not at all,” Joey answered. “I mean, why would I? They didn’t hang out with each other or anything.”
Mikey said, “Both of them worked on the paper.” Oliver and Marge turned to him and waited for the boy to elaborate. “I mean, I’m on the paper, too. So are about a hundred other kids. It’s one of those silver stars that you put on your college application.”
“Kevin Stanger told us that Greg was working on something big before he died,” Marge said.
“News to me,” Joey said.
Marge turned to Mikey, who seemed to be the most cooperative of the boys. “Do you think it might have had something to do with the paper?