Drift Away (Noah Braddock Mysteries) (19 page)

She trotted down the sand toward her son.

“Look, if you’re in trouble with Zip again, I’ve got nothing for you,” I said when she was out of earshot. “I’m knee-deep in my own shit and I don’t have time
…
”

“Hey,” Alex said. “Whoa.”

I closed my mouth.

He ran a hand over his forehead, wiping away the perspiration. “I got out, Noah. Totally.”

I didn’t say anything because I found that hard to believe. For years, I hadn’t even known Liz had a brother. When we ran into him one day, she gave me the story and it wasn’t pretty. Got into dealing at an early age and it spiraled out of control. She’d cut ties with him because he’d let her down so many times. She’d finally had enough. And the only reason I’d helped him was because I wanted to do something for Liz, whether or not she knew about it. So I was skeptical.

“The day you and Carter saved my ass, I started pulling out,” he said. “I was tired. Tired of looking to score, tired of not knowing who was on the other side of the door, tired of disappointing everyone. So it took me awhile, but I cut out.”

“What are you doing now then?” I asked.

“Working construction,” he said. “And I’m back in school. Getting my degree.”

“No drugs?”

“None,” he said, looking me square in the eye. “Free and clear.” 

His eyes drifted away from me, toward the water. “When Liz was killed, that’s when I decided on school. I was out, but just spinning my wheels, no direction. But after all that, I decided I wasn’t going to waste any more time. Day after the funeral I went over to Mesa, enrolled and made a plan.” 

I winced at the mention of her funeral. I hadn’t gone. And it wasn’t that I wished that I’d gone. It was just something I didn’t like to think about.

“So I’m good,” he said, turning back to me. “I think that I always thought I’d have time with her, you know?  Eventually, I figured I’d get my act together and I’d fix all of the damage I’d done. Same kind of lies every loser tells himself to justify what he’s doing. I was no different. But I always meant it, at least in my head I did. Then she was gone.”  He paused. “I may have missed out on having a relationship with her while she was alive, but I can make sure she’d be proud of me now. It’s all I have.”

I nodded and was envious for a moment. At least he had something to tie himself to her. I felt like I had nothing.

“So what the hell are you doing here?” I asked.

A crooked smile spread across his face. “Carter sent me.”

THIRTY-TWO

“Carter sent you?” I asked. “To me?”

“He said he got an email from you,” Alex said. “Something about Zip.”

My brain spun.

“He said he was going to email you and let you know I was on the way,” he said.

“Yeah, well, he must have forgotten.”

He studied me for a minute, then slid the glasses back over his eyes, the sun getting the better of him. “You’re wondering why the hell he sent me, right?”

“Crossed my mind, Alex,” I said honestly. “Like I said, last time I saw you was, I thought, the last time Carter saw you, too.”

Alex nodded and stared out toward the water. “Fair enough.”  He cleared his throat. “A few days after the funeral, I came looking for you. To talk to you. But you were
…
already gone.”

I shifted my feet in the sand, uncomfortable under the weight of his words.

“I hung out. I waited,” Alex continued. “Carter finally showed up.”  He chuckled. “I think I actually scared him on your patio because I was just sitting there. Anyway, he tried to blow me off, said he didn’t know where you were, some bullshit. But I sniffed it out, you know?  I knew he knew where you were.”

I tried to picture them having the conversation on my patio, but I had trouble even recalling what my home looked like.

“So I badgered the shit out of him,” Alex said, turning to me. “Because I wanted a piece of whoever killed my sister.”

Landon Keene’s face flashed somewhere on the horizon and I turned away from it.

“Carter tried to put me off, but I was relentless,” he said. “I wouldn’t leave him alone. I found his house. Basically camped out. Finally, he caved. He told me. About you and Keene.”

The words hung there in the air and it felt as if they were lit up in neon for the entire world to see. I wasn’t sure I cared.

“So before I forget
…
thank you,” Alex said quietly.

I didn’t move or respond. Wasn’t sure that I could do either.

“But Carter and I started talking,” he said, shrugging. “He helped me line up a couple of construction jobs, lent me the money to start the classes at Mesa.”  He smiled at me. “Don’t worry. I paid him back two weeks later.”

I nodded.

“So, then he needed to get outta sight,” he said. “Cops started breathing down on him a little bit, you know?  I knew a couple people, I gave him the names. We’ve stayed in touch. Two days ago, my cell rang. He said you needed some help, told me where you were.”  He shrugged. “So here I am. Because I owe you.”

“Owe me?  How do you figure?”

Alex folded his arms across his broad chest. “Three reasons, Noah. One, you bailed my ass out when you had no reason to. Helped get my head on right.”  He glanced at me. “Two, you took out the motherfucker that killed my sister.”  He turned all the way to me, shoved his hands in the pockets of his shorts. “And, three, you made Liz happy. Really happy. She loved you, Noah. Really loved you.”

I blinked hard, letting the words surround me, swallow me up. Images of her face flashed out on the horizon, faster than I could look at them.

“So, thank you, Noah,” Alex said. “Thank you.”

There was nothing to thank me for and I couldn’t imagine anyone feeling grateful to me for what I’d brought to Liz’s life. I’d have given anything to have her back, to have no one feel the need to thank me.

“Okay,” I said, because there was nothing else to say.

“So I’m in,” Alex said. “Whatever you need, whatever you want, I’m in.”

“Okay.”

Bella ushered Jackson over to the water, had him bend down and wash his hands off.

“Carter,” I asked. “How is he?”

“He’s alright,” he said. “Heat’s on a bit, so he’s staying quiet.”

“What kind of heat?”

“Those two cops that found Keene’s body.”

“Klimes and Zanella?”

He nodded. “Yeah. Them. They’ve been all over him.”

The tide was starting to roll in and the waves were crashing harder.

“Tailing him, pulling him in for questions, just staying on him,” he said. “He told me that he heard they were working on warrants for him. And for you. So he decided to make himself scarce for awhile.”

“What about Wellton?” I asked. “Where’s he at?”

“He’s kind of a mess,” Alex said. “Took some time off. He’s back now, but he really hasn’t been in any shape to help or run interference.”

It was hard for me to picture Liz’s old partner imploding. As much as he and I didn’t get along, I respected him as a cop and after she died, he was the one who gave me the heads up that Keene’s body had been located. But it sounded as if both he and Carter were suffering in different ways.

Because of me.

Jackson chased Bella down the shoreline, both of them giggling as the water splashed around their ankles. I couldn’t stay much longer. I didn’t want them to be hurt because of me. I needed to figure out her situation and move on to wherever I was going to move on to.

“You really up for helping me?” I asked.

“Anything,” he said. “I’m in.”

“May mean getting your hands a little dirty.”

He smiled. “Done it before, I can do it again.”

Bella scooped up Jackson and swung him around, his legs flailing as he screamed and giggled above the water.

“Okay,” I said. “Let’s figure some shit out.”

THIRTY-THREE

“Alex and I will take David the money,” I said.

“You’re nuts,” Bella said.

We were still on the beach and Jackson had passed out on a towel next to us. I’d grabbed a couple more chairs and the three of us were sitting there, discussing our options. Or rather, I was throwing out options and Bella was discouraging them.

“He’ll freak,” she said. “Absolutely freak. And come after me.”

“No, he won’t,” I said.

“How do you know?”

“Because I’m going to tell him not to.”

Alex chuckled, but Bella just shook her head, her mouth set in a line of agitation.

“I’m not going to let him hurt you, Bella,” I said. “You need to trust me if you want my help. Remember?”

The line softened, but didn’t disappear completely. “I remember. I do trust you. But he isn’t some neighborhood dealer and I think that’s how you’re looking at him.”

“He’s capable of more?” Alex asked.

She nodded.

“Like?” Alex prodded.

“Like a lot more, okay?” she said. “He’s killed people. He’s just like Evan was.”

“Who’s Evan?” Alex asked.

I waved him off.

“They are so much alike,” she continued. “I know him. And it won’t be about losing the deal. It’s going to be someone telling him what to do. That’s the stuff he can’t take. The stuff that will piss him off.”

Which I already knew. Guys like David got off on the control far more than the money or deals. But I could understand why she was scared.