The Fury - Jason Pinter [102]
all he said. Trouble. But the thing is--" Helen stopped,
looked at the floor.
"What is it?"
"The night he died," she said, "Stephen told me there
might be one way out. He said he knew one person who
might be able to help us. He knew about your father,
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about his family, and I told him there was a good chance
James Parker wouldn't give us a dime and we wouldn't
be able to leave the country. So finally he told me there
was one last option. There was someone he knew wasn't
on the take, wouldn't hurt us. Someone who could give
them more trouble than they ever imagined. He went out
that night. Never told me who he was going to see. And
then, a few hours later, he was dead."
It felt like a piece of coal was burning in the pit of
my stomach. I knew Stephen had been talking about me.
For some reason, he considered me his last hope. And
then he died. Because I didn't trust him.
"You said the night Stephen died, you saw someone
outside the apartment. A young man crying. Who was
he?" I asked.
"I don't know. It was dark out," Helen said, her voice
sorrowful, apologetic. "And my mind, I was so
confused, so scared. I didn't see his face. All I remember
is noticing something on his neck...a birthmark. Such
a young man, younger than Stephen even..."
I nearly fell to the floor. The room went blurry on me.
Clarence got up, came to my side, helped me stand.
"You okay?" he said.
I nodded, but felt anything but okay. I knew who that
man was. And now I knew who killed Stephen.
And I knew where he lived.
31
"I have to go," I said, standing up. Right under my
nose the whole time. My brother's killer. I didn't have
time to talk to Helen. To worry about how disturbing it
was that a mother would prefer to protect her own hide
than find justice for her son's killer.
I couldn't think about how this might affect Helen.
She could be helped. She could be protected. And if her
eyes hadn't deceived her that night, I knew who had
killed Stephen Gaines.
"Tell me you'll be here," I said to Helen, looking at
Clarence. "I swear on my life I know people who can
protect you. And if I'm right, you won't have to worry
anymore, because the man who killed Stephen will be
behind bars the rest of his life. There's nobody else
who can hurt you."
"You don't know that," Helen whispered. "Stephen
was much stronger than I ever was. And look what
happened to him."
There was no boogeyman. No higher power. It was
the law of the jungle. Kill or be killed. Stephen found
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himself on the shit end of that equation. And it was time
for me to even the score.
"Please be here," I said. "If I'm right, you'll need
to testify."
"If you're wrong," she said, "neither of us will be
around long enough for it to matter."
I said nothing. I thanked Clarence for his help. Then,
crossing over to Helen Gaines, I put my hand on her
shoulder. The bones protruded, sharp angles. There was
no muscle, no strength there. She was a skeleton with
skin. A woman whose soul seemed to have left her long
ago.
Helen Gaines smiled weakly at me. I didn't know if
she would still be here later. There were only so many
lives I could affect. My duty was to the truth, to uncover
it at all costs.
"Watch after her," I said to Clarence. His nod told
me he would.
I left Bernita's apartment, exiting the building. The
sun was hanging bright and hot over the city. Every
second seemed to take an hour. Every moment he
breathed thinking he'd gotten away with murder was
one that made my blood boil.
Before I left, I took out my cell phone and my wallet,
then removed the thick stack of business cards that had
turned brown from the leather. Shuffling through them,
I picked out the one I needed. Then I called the cell
phone number listed.
"Detective Makhoulian," came the answer.
"Detective," I said, "it's Henry Parker. I know who
killed Stephen Gaines."
I gave him the address and told him when to be there.
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Jason Pinter
Only, I would be there ten minutes earlier. We needed
some time alone.
I headed