The Devil's Right Hand - J. D. Rhoades [55]
“I can see that,” Keller said. “It looks like fun.”
The boy pondered for a moment. “You want to ride?”
“Thanks,” Keller said. “But it’s been a while. I might fall off and hurt myself.”
“Okay,” the boy said. He detached himself from his mother’s leg and went back to the Big Wheel. He saddled up again and began industriously pedaling his way up the driveway, his tongue sticking out of the corner of his mouth with concentration. Keller and Marie watched him, standing a few feet apart.
“You going to keep an eye on her in the hospital?” Marie asked finally.
Keller shook his head. “She won’t be there long. She’s got no insurance, most likely, so they’ll show her the front door as soon as they can without risking a lawsuit. If she gets lucky, somebody will refer her to rehab. If not--well, I gave her the number of a friend of mine.”
Marie turned in surprise to look at him. “You did?”
“Yeah,” Keller said. “A guy--a doctor I knew in the Army runs a rehab center. Does good work. If he knows I sent her, he might not be so sticky about insurance questions. Why, are you surprised?”
She shook her head, a slight smile on her face. “You’re a hard guy to figure out, Keller,” she said. “One minute, I feel like you’re staking the girl out like a goat set as tiger bait. The next, you’re sending her to rehab.” She slid her arm around his waist and kissed him on the cheek.
He shrugged. “Maybe she goes, maybe she doesn’t. It’s not like it cost me anything. Besides, I finally decided that with as many people as he has chasing him, DeWayne Puryear would be an idiot to try to contact her at that hospital, anyway.”
“C’mon, Crystal,” DeWayne muttered, “answer the damn phone.” He hunched over a little more, trying to make his face inconspicuous. The pay phone was stuck on a metal pole in the corner of a convenience store parking lot, and DeWayne felt as exposed as a bug on a sidewalk. He had considered calling from Debbie’s apartment, but he suddenly got paranoid about the possibility of phone taps and traces. That was the problem with that rock cocaine, he thought. It felt good going down, almost better than sex, but afterwards, when the blast wore off, you felt all jittery and sick and your mind kept running into all these dark places. All the colors looked too bright and sharp and the sound of the phone ringing was boring into his ear like a needle. He was about ready to slam the receiver down when he heard somebody pick up on the other end. A female voice said “Hello?”
“Crystal?” DeWayne began. “It’s DeWayne.”
There was a short pause. “Crystal’s not here. This is a friend of hers.”
DeWayne took a deep breath. “Do you know when she’ll be back?”
A longer pause. “She’s in the hospital.”
Keller, DeWayne thought. The son of a bitch got to Crystal. “What happened? Who is this?”
“I’m Mara,” the voice said. “I’m a friend of hers. We work together at the--we work together.”
“What are you doing in Crystal’s house?”
“Hey man,” the voice held an edge of irritation. “Ease up, all right? I came by to get some things for her. Clothes and shit. Don’t be gettin’ all in my--”
“Is she hurt?” DeWayne asked. “What happened?”
“Who did you say this was?” the voice demanded suspiciously.
“It’s DeWayne, her cousin. I need to ask her about our folks. I need to find out what she knows.”
“Oh. Yeah. She mentioned you.” The voice softened somewhat. “Sorry about your folks.”
DeWayne resisted the urge to slam the phone against the side of the booth. “What happened to my cousin, damn it?”
“Look, you don’t have to get all hostile, all right? I mean I know you’re upset and all, but I got feelings, too--”
DeWayne was trying not to scream. “Look, I’m sorry. I just found out last night about my aunt and uncle. I’m upset. They raised me, y’know?”
“Yeah, whatever,” the voice still sounded offended. “Anyway, Amber, I mean Crystal, didn’t take the news too well, you might say. She decided to check out for a while.”
“What are you saying, she tried to kill herself?” DeWayne thought of feisty little Crystal, who would stand toe to toe with either he