“Go away,” a woman called through the door.The voice was raw, with a brittle edge.“Leave us alone, or I’m calling the police.”
“Mrs.Lee?I apologize for disturbing you; I know this is a difficult time for you and your family.But if I could ask you a few questions—”
“I said go away!”
“Please, I want to help.”
“I’m calling the police!”
With a grimace, Tean headed back toward the street.The clip of his steps and the faint buzz of the streetlights only underscored the oppressive silence that hung in the air.He went as slowly as he could, moving down the driveway and toward the truck, somewhere between praying and wishing that Jem wasn’t doing anything foolish.
A sudden hiss from around the side of the house drew Tean’s attention.For a single instant, his brain registered it as Jem trying to get his attention.But the hissing sound was too regular, and it went on too long.It sounded like—
Tean altered course, moving onto the strip of lawn that separated the Lee home from the house next to it.In the shadows between the houses, a girl with a can of spray paint was vandalizing the side of the house.The low light made the paint’s color indistinguishable, but the letters were clear: P-E-D-O-
A heartbeat after Tean saw the girl, the girl saw him.She let out a small scream, followed by, “Fuck!”Then she dropped the can of spray paint and stumbled back a few steps.
The privacy fence’s gate swung open, and a shadow emerged.The girl turned, saw the newcomer, and froze.
In Jem’s voice, the shadowed figure said, “What’s up?”
“She was graffitiing the house,” Tean said.
The girl’s high, rapid breaths tore big holes in the silence.
When Jem spoke again, his voice was flat.“Shitty thing to do to your own house.What’s your mom going to say?”
The girl flinched.As Tean’s eyes adjusted to the lower light, he began to make out more details.Something about her build, about the way she carried herself, said she couldn’t have been out of high school.But she’d made her face up with a thick layer of white foundation, dark lipstick, and smudgy eyeshadow, and it was hard to tell her age under all the cosmetics.A black leather jacket with chrome hardware and leopard-print leggings were brought together by a graphic tee of a finger held over a pair of lips, with the words SHUT THE FUCK UP printed underneath.She was shivering, one arm held across her body.Her other hand she clutched at her side.
“Please don’t tell her,” she said, and she sounded like she was on the brink of tears.“You can’t tell her.”
One thing Tean had learned from Jem—and he wasn’t sure this was agoodthing—was never to give up an advantage, especially when someone handed it to you on a silver platter.In what Jem had referred to more than once as his disappointed-dad voice, Tean said, “We’ll see about that.Let’s start with your name.”
“Tilar.”
“All right, Tilar.I’m Tean.This is Jem.We’re trying to figure out what happened to your dad.”When he hesitated, she didn’t speak, so he asked, “Want to tell us why you’re vandalizing your own house?”
She held herself more tightly, and when she spoke, the words were hard.“It’s what he is, right?”
“I don’t know,” Tean said.“I guess that’s part of what we’re trying to figure out.”
“Maybe you could help,” Jem said.“Tell us what’s been going on.”
“We’re not supposed to talk to anyone.”
Jem moved around, making a wide circle to avoid approaching her, and took his place next to Tean.“But you might be able to help us.”
“Brother Young killed him.That’s what happened.”
“Maybe,” Jem said.“But maybe not.That’s what we’re trying to figure out.”
“The police arrested Brother Young.”
“Yeah, they did.But the police make mistakes sometimes.Did you know Daniel is missing?”He let the question hang a moment before he said, “What if the police made a mistake?What if whoever did this to your dad is still out there, and he wants to hurt more people?”
Tilar’s silence lasted longer this time.“Why would he want to hurt Daniel?”
“That’s a good question.”
