Thread of Hope

EIGHTEEN

Gina intimated knowing Chuck when she’d laid me out in Jon Jordan’s driveway, but she hadn’t explained. I was officially confused.

“Gina and I have been friends for a long time,” Kelly explained. “She said she knew this guy, that he knew basketball and that he might be able to help. She knew I was looking for a volunteer assistant.”

“Any idea how they knew each other?” I said, thoroughly mystified at what I was hearing.

“Isn’t Winslow your buddy?”A confused grin spread across her face.

“Yes.” I didn't offer anything else.

She waited, then shrugged. “Gina said they went to school together. A long time ago.”

It would have been before high school, I thought. I’d met him freshman year.

None of that was making sense so I switched gears.

“How long have you known Gina?” I asked.

“Since high school, up in Orange County,” she said. “We played ball together. We both came down here for college and stuck around.”

“What did she do before she worked for Jordan?”

Kelly pressed her lips together and shook her head. “I’ll talk about Winslow. I’m not going to talk about Gina. She’s a friend and you can ask her yourself.”

I nodded. “Okay. Bottom line. You’ve spent time with both Chuck and Meredith. Who do you believe?”

“I told you. I don’t know.”

“Make a choice. Go with your gut. Who’s telling the truth?”

Kelly shifted in the booth, like she was trying to get comfortable and couldn’t find the right spot. “If I have to choose, I choose Meredith.”

My stomach sank. “Why?”

She thought about that for a long moment before she answered. “I’m not sure. Chuck looked me in the eye and denied it. Didn’t get outraged, didn’t throw a tantrum, no dramatics. Just looked me in the eye and said he didn’t do anything to Meredith. It seemed genuine.” She looked away for a moment, her eyes searching the diner. She brought them back to me. “But there was something in Meredith. Hurt, pain, I don’t know. I don’t think she was lying.”

It wasn’t what I wanted to hear, but it forced me to start thinking about everything from a different perspective. I could keep saying that Chuck wasn’t capable of doing the things he was being accused of, but if I was going to figure out what happened, I was going to have to admit to at least one thing. These people had been around Chuck a lot more than I had in the previous few years. And I needed to start listening to what they were saying.

“I know why Chuck would lie,” I said, the words feeling funny as they came off my tongue. “No one would want to admit doing that. But why would Meredith lie?”

“I don’t have an answer for that,” she said, looking genuinely confused. “Like I said before, it’s not like her.”

Which put us right back where we started. Right smack in the middle of nowhere.

She saw my frustration. “Sorry. It’s all I’ve got.” She looked at her watch. “I need to get going.”

I looked at the check, threw some cash on the table and we walked outside. Fog shrouded the bridge, the muted lights casting an eery glow over the water.

“Have you talked to him?” Kelly asked. “How’s he doing?”

“Someone beat the shit out of him,” I said. “He’s in the hospital, unconscious. He’s a mess.”

She stopped. “You’re serious?”

“Unfortunately, yeah. So I haven’t gotten to talk to him yet.”

She shook her head, clearly shaken. “Jesus.”

“She have a boyfriend?” I asked as we started walking again. “Meredith?”

Kelly nodded. “Yeah. A kid I don’t care for all that much. Remember I said how Chuck looked me in the eye? This kid never looks me in the eye.” She grimaced. “I hate when kids are like that.”

“Know his name?”

She pulled her keys from her bag and opened her car door. “Sure. Derek Weathers.”