The Truth of Yesterday (29 page)

     “Paul is dead. Nothing you do is going to bring him back,” he said, his voice empty and hollow.

     “What if he was killed by a serial killer who preys on escorts? You could be next.”

     “We lead risky lives. We meet strangers for a living. We all know that every appointment could be our last. We try not to think about it, but we know it. I know it. Paul knew it. You accept the risk and you do your job.”

     “So that's it? This is just one more risk?”

     
“Pretty much.”

     “You have no intention of helping me find out what happened to him, do you? You don't give a damn about Paul.”

     He looked me square in the face, his black eyes flashing. “The only way you can survive this business is to not give a damn. No one gives a damn about you. Not the police, we're scum to most of them. Not the clients, it's strictly
business
. And not the agency, if you work for one, you're a replaceable commodity. Nobody gives a damn about Paul.”

     “Micah does.”

     He snorted.
“How nice.
I'm sure Paul would appreciate that if he was still alive, especially since he hadn't heard from Micah since he left. What good does it do Paul now?”

     “We can find out what happened to him and make sure he gets justice.”

     
“Justice?
What a joke. There is no justice, not for us. Go away, little boy. I can't help you.”

     I stood up with a sigh, figuring that was all I was going to get out of him for now. I had a feeling he knew more than he was saying, but this wasn't the time to press it. I started towards the door to let myself out. Tad hadn't relocked all the locks after
Razi
had come home so I didn't really need assistance. I paused by the door as a thought struck me. I turned back to
Razi
, who was still sitting on the sofa.

     “What's your story?” I asked.

     He looked up with a slightly surprised expression, as if he hadn't expected me to still be there. “What?”

     “Earlier you said that you all had stories. I know Paul's, I know Micah's. What's yours?”

     He looked away. “My story is my own. Leave now, please.”

     I watched him a second more, then let myself out.

     
Chris
waited until I reached the stairwell before falling in beside me. “Well?” She asked.

     “I didn't find out much,” I told her.
“Especially not from
Razi
.”

     “Is he the one that went in after you were already inside?”

     
“Yeah.
He knows more than he's saying, but whatever he knows he sure isn't telling me.”

     “He wouldn't tell you anything?”

     “Nothing I didn't already know or couldn't find out from Micah. Well, nothing directly. I did find out that things weren't very good between Paul and his family, but
Razi
doesn't seem to think they could have had anything to do with Paul's murder, not that his opinion carries that much weight. I want to meet them myself.”

     “Do you see this
Razi
guy as a possible suspect?”

     “Well,
Razi
says they were friends, and Micah backs that up. Still, he might have had a motive. He's got a sweet set-up now with Tad. According to Tad, Paul didn't approve of their, for lack of a better word, relationship. He said
Razi
and Paul had a fight about it.”

     “What do you mean?”

     “Tad's a runaway. He was a street kid on the fast track to becoming a hustler when
Razi
took him in. It wasn't exactly out of the kindness of his heart. The kid cleans and sleeps with
Razi
in exchange for a roof over his head and food. If Paul was threatening to find Tad's father,
Razi
might have tried to stop him.”

     “You don't sound very convinced.”

     “That's because I'm not. He's hiding something, but I don't think he did it. Actually, if we're talking suspects, as much as I hate to say it, Tad makes a better one.”

     
“The kid?”

     
“Yeah.
He has a lot more at stake if Paul decided to look up his father. He really doesn't want to go back to him.”

     “Do you really think he's a killer though?”

     I sighed. “I'd hate to think it. I like him. But I've been fooled before.”

     She looked over at me. “You're going to have to tell me some of these stories some time.”

     “Sometime before this over,” I promised.

     “Back to
Razi
, did you learn anything else from him?”

     “Not really. He has some history he doesn't want to talk about-actually, he has a lot of stuff he doesn't want to talk about. If everyone is like him this is not going to be easy.”

     We came out onto the street and stopped. “Where to now?” she asked.

      “I guess we can try and find Paul's apartment and see if the key still fits. I hope they haven't cleared it out yet.”

     
“Probably not that quickly.
The police investigation is still open and I doubt they would have released the apartment already. It would look really bad if they had.”

     “What's the address again?” she asked.

     I gave her the address and she nodded. “That's a better part of the city, close to

     “Apparently money is not an object when you're a successful escort,” I said dryly.

     “Back to the Metro then,” she said and we started back up the road in the direction of the station.

     “Killian,” a voice called from behind me. I turned around to see Tad running towards us. He'd thrown on a T-shirt and a pair of sandals but still looked completely disheveled.

     
“Tad?”
Chris
asked under her breath.

     “Yep,” I responded as he reached us.

     “
Razi's
in the shower,” he said breathlessly, “I only have a minute but I didn't want you to leave without saying bye. He didn't say anything to me after you left but he was in a pretty bad mood. Did he seem mad that I let you in?”

     “He's hard to read. Why?” I asked, suddenly concerned, “What would he do if he was mad? Would he hurt you?”

     Tad grimaced. “I hope not. I don't really know. He's never really been mad at me before. Annoyed maybe, but not mad. I just don't want him to kick me out.”

     I felt bad for the poor kid, and even worse that I may have caused even more problems for him. I pulled out my wallet, found one of my cards, and scribbled my cell phone number on the back

     “If he hurts you, call me,” I said, handing him the card. “I'll come get you personally.”

     Tad blinked in surprise and for a second I thought he might cry. “Are you serious?” he asked.

     “Very. Even if you just decide you want out of your arrangement, call me.”

     “I owe him,” he said with a frown, “He saved my life. And besides, where else would I go? I'm not going back home.”

     “What if your dad wanted you back? Maybe he's changed his mind since you left. He might have realized how much you meant to him.”

     “You don't know my dad,” he snorted. “I'm not going back. I don't care what anyone says.”

     “Well, I won't make you do anything,” I told him quickly. I didn't want him to not call me if he needed me just because he was afraid I'd make him go back to his father. “Will you call me if you need me?”

     He looked back down at the card in his hand and then slipped in his pocket. He looked back up and gave me a lopsided grin. “I
dunno
.
Maybe, maybe not.
No promises.”

     “It doesn't have to be this way, you know.”

     “It's not that bad, really. Better than the streets.
Better than home.”
He shrugged. “It could be worse.”

     “Maybe it could be better.”

     He looked at me for a minute without saying a word, but his expression spoke volumes. It was obvious he was torn between what he felt he owed
Razi
and wishing things could be different. His eyes shifted to
Chris
, as if noticing her for the first time.

     “I'm his assistant,” she said quickly.

     “You guys won't turn me in, will you?”  

     I sighed. “No, I won't turn you in.”

     He looked to
Chris
. “Hey, I only do what he tells me to do,” she said.

     He seemed satisfied and started backing away. “I need to get back up there before he gets out of the shower,” he said.

     “You'll probably be seeing me again,” I told him. “And
remember,
call me if you need me.”

     He grinned. “
Okey
dokey
,” he said before spinning around and running back into the building.

     I stood staring after him even after he was gone.

     “Cute kid,”
Chris
said.
“Shitty deal.”
She glanced over at me and noticed my frown. “What are you thinking?”

     “I wish there was something I could do for him.”

     “There's hundreds more where he came from,” she said sadly. “I've heard that at least 30% of all teenage runaways are gay kids. At least, he has a roof over his head and food.”

     “But for what? He's essentially a sex-slave.”

     “You gave him an option. That's more than he had yesterday. If he decides he wants out bad enough he'll call you.”

     “He's just a kid. He has a family somewhere who doesn't even know where he is.”

     “He made it pretty clear that he didn't want to go back to them. Are you going to go back on your word and turn him in?”

     “No, I won't do that. I just wish there was something more I could do. I don't even know what his last name is or if Tad is even his real first name.”

     “I have an idea, but first, let's start moving. We can talk while we walk, unless you're too blonde to handle that.”

     I laughed, breaking my melancholy mood. “I think I can handle that,” I said as we turned once more towards the Metro station and started walking. “What's your idea?”

     “How long has he been running?”

     “I think he said he'd been in the city for about a month. Why?”

     “At the police station, they have a book with pictures of all the kids that have been reported missing. We can look through the most recent ones and maybe find out who he is at least. Then, if you want, you could anonymously check in with his father or something. You'd at least know if he wanted him back or what.”

     “That's a good idea. We'll have to do that. But first, let's go check out Paul's apartment. I want to get as much done as I can while I'm here.”