“Bullshit.I don’t care what you do with them.I don’t care if you’re selling them or if you’ve got a collection or what.I just want to know if you still have the ones from last week.Did the police find them?”
Kazen almost tripped over his own lie.“Yeah, they took everything.”
“Double bullshit.Go get them from wherever you hid them.Look through them.We want a smaller guy, he’s white, in his thirties, dark hair.Maybe he has a mustache or scruff.The first name might be Rydel, but it might not.”
“Hold on.”
“Kazen, don’t do something stupid right now.Don’t make me drive all the way out there.Don’t make this harder than it has to be.”
“Fuck you,” Kazen said.
A minute of silence passed.Then another.And then rustling came across the phone, and Kazen said, “Rydel Owens?”
Tean’s hand tightened around the phone.
“That one,” Jem said.“You still have the wallet?”
“It’s, like, Carhartt.It’s kind of dope, actually.”
“Yeah, I don’t care.What’s in the wallet?”
“Some credit cards—Visa, Visa, Mastercard.This one is from a bank, so I guess it’s a debit card.Uh, insurance.He’s got one of the Kroger’s cards.”
“Any cash?”Jem asked dryly.
To his surprise, Kazen laughed and said, “It’s so weird, man.This one didn’t have any cash.”
“Uh huh.Read me the address on that license.”After Kazen finished, Jem said, “Do you have the number I’m calling you on?”
As though this was the most obvious thing in the world, Kazen said, “Yeah.”
“Take pictures of everything in that wallet and send them to this number.”
“Why?”
“So I don’t have to drive to your house and beat your ass, how’s that?”
“Bruh, you’re such an asshole.”And then, without missing a beat, “You’re hot, though.”
“Send me those pictures, Kazen.”
“You know I’m into older guys, right?”
“Goodbye.”
“I could meet you somewhere and…” He let it hang.“Give you this shit.”
“Jem has a boyfriend,” Tean said.“And you should consider chemical castration.”
And then he disconnected.
Jem looked at him.
“What?”Tean said.“You do.And he should.I mean, not to be sex negative—”
“That was extremely sex negative.”
“He was soliciting you!”
