Spilled Blood

19

Chris bought a sandwich and strolled onto the footbridge across the Spirit River that connected downtown Barron with the park on the opposite shore. He stopped in the middle of the bridge and watched the brown water pushing south from the dam. He loosened the knot of his tie and undid the top button of his shirt. After two bites of a turkey sandwich, he decided that he wasn’t hungry and rewrapped his lunch for later.

He heard footsteps on the bridge. A teenage boy shuffled from the town park, with his head down and his hands in the pockets of beige corduroys. The boy was small, no more than five feet seven, and wiry. He wore an oversized Lil Wayne T-shirt that was badly tucked in at his waist. His brown hair was unruly and hung below his ears. His face was long, dotted with pimples, with a pointy chin. On his right cheek, Chris saw two bandages taped together to cover all but the top and bottom edges of a long cut that was still red and fresh.

The boy didn’t notice Chris until they were practically on top of each other, and when he finally looked up, his eyes widened and he froze, like an animal sensing danger. Before Chris could say a word, the boy turned and fled, sprinting toward the opposite side of the river.

‘Hey!’ Chris shouted.

He charged in pursuit. His dress shoes slowed him down, and the kid was young and fast. The distance between them widened, but the teenager slipped as his sneakers hit a slick patch of grass. He flew into a somersault, feet over head, and landed on his back, splashed in mud. As the kid scrambled to get up, Chris stopped him with a foot on his chest. He collared him and marched him to a weathered picnic bench.

‘What the hell do you want?’ the boy complained. ‘I didn’t do anything. Let me go.’

‘Why did you run?’

‘Because I know who you are, man.’

‘So?’

‘So I’ve got nothing to say to you.’

Chris sat down next to the teenager on the bench. ‘What’s your name?’

‘Lenny.’

‘Lenny who?’

‘Lenny Watson.’

Chris made the connection. ‘Kirk is your brother.’

‘Yeah, and if you lay a hand on me, he’ll beat the shit out of you, man.’

‘I’m not going to hurt you, Lenny.’

‘Damn right you’re not.’ The kid got up from the bench, but Chris yanked him down by his shoulder.

‘Hang on,’ he said. ‘Let’s talk.’

‘About what?’

‘First of all, about that cut on your face. Where did you get it?’

‘Broken glass.’

‘Yeah? How’d that happen?’

‘I tripped,’ Lenny said.

‘You’re lucky you didn’t lose an eye.’

‘Whatever. It hurts like hell.’

Chris leaned forward and whispered. ‘You know what hurts worse than a scratch like that, Lenny? Being kidnapped and assaulted by a bunch of thugs. That hurts. That’s something you carry with you your whole life.’ He didn’t add: If I find out you were one of them, I will kill you. First your brother, then you.

Lenny paled. His face constricted. ‘Look, man, I know about Olivia. That was real awful what happened to her. I – I like her.’

‘If you like her, you’ll help me catch the boys who did this,’ Chris told him.

Lenny twitched. ‘I don’t know nothing, man.’

‘What about your brother? Were you with him last night?’

‘Uh, yeah.’

‘Where?’

‘Home, man.’

‘Where’s home?’

‘Kirk and me got a house right on the river off 120th.’

‘Who else was with you?’

‘I don’t know. Kirk had some girls over. He usually does.’

Chris nodded. ‘The two of you live there by yourselves?’

‘Yeah.’

‘So you weren’t in that train yard last night?’

‘No, man, no!’

He listened to the pitch of the teenager’s voice and tried to remember the call from Olivia’s cell phone the previous night. The voices were similar. That was all he could say.

‘Someone called me last night,’ Chris said, ‘and told me where to find Olivia. Whoever did that probably saved her life. That’s what a real man does. It’s not someone who beats the hell out of defenseless girls.’

‘I told you, I hope she’s okay.’

‘How well do you know her?’ Chris asked.

‘I see her around, that’s all.’

‘Everybody around here thinks she killed Ashlynn,’ Chris said, ‘but I don’t think she did.’

Lenny shrugged. ‘Yeah, well, I hope you’re right.’

‘Do you have any idea who did kill Ashlynn?’

‘Beats me.’

‘Someone told me your brother was dating Ashlynn, and she dumped him. Is that true?’

‘What about it?’

‘He must have been angry.’

‘Yeah, so what? If you think he killed her, you’re wrong. He wouldn’t touch her. Kirk would never do anything to Florian’s daughter.’

‘Florian?’ Chris asked. ‘What does Kirk have to do with Florian?’

Lenny looked as if he wanted to bite his tongue off. ‘Kirk works for him sometimes.’

‘What kind of work?’

‘Security. Shit like that.’

‘What exactly does Kirk do? Kick the crap out of environmental protesters who get too close to the facility?’

Lenny fidgeted. He knew he’d said too much. ‘I don’t know what he does, man.’

Chris drew a dotted line in his head between Florian Steele and Kirk Watson, and he didn’t like it. It made him wonder if Florian was more closely involved in the feud than he let on. It also made him wonder if Florian had some special interest in hiding the truth about what had happened to his daughter.

‘Did Kirk mention anybody who was causing trouble for Florian? Anyone threatening him or his family?’

Lenny shook his head. ‘No.’

‘What about this guy Aquarius? Any idea who he is?’

‘I don’t have a clue.’ The boy added, ‘Man, I really have to get out of here. If anyone sees me talking to you, it’s not good, okay?’

Chris nodded. ‘Okay, Lenny.’

Lenny got up, and Chris didn’t stop him. The teenager cast a suspicious eye around the park to make sure they were alone. He tugged at his wet clothes. He headed for the Barron bridge, but Chris called after him.

‘Hey, do me a favor, Lenny.’

The boy stopped and looked back nervously. ‘What?’

‘You say you like Olivia. If you hear about any trouble involving her, you do the right thing, okay?’

Lenny didn’t respond, but he stared at his feet and gave the barest nod. Chris let him shuffle away. Somewhere inside Lenny was a decent kid, but he would always be doing the wrong thing to impress the wrong person. It was the way of the world. Chris thought about Olivia and realized that even sweet kids with parents who love them can make terrible mistakes.

Chris had made his own share of mistakes in life. Deep down, in the privacy of his conscience, he was thinking about making another one. He was conscious of the heaviness of Marco Piva’s gun in the small of his back, where he had it tucked inside his belt.

He knew how to use it, and thanks to Lenny, he knew where Kirk Watson lived.