I was a beholder when it came to Peter.
Miffed at the thought, I settled into a chair at the table, scowled at Benjie’s back and waited.My scowl faded.Eventually, he turned.
He looked like hell.Forget the wrinkled jeans and shirt that he’d clearly slept in.Forget the stubble on his face and the redness in his eyes.His expression was a world-weary one, far too old for his years.
“What about them?”he asked in a disgruntled tone.
“He’s in trouble, Benjie.”We both knew I was talking of Cooper.“He’s in trouble, and if we don’t come up with something, he could go to prison.”
“He won’t.That New York dude’ll keep him out.”
“Peter isn’t a miracle worker.The fact is that those stolen diamonds were found in Cooper’s possession.”I wanted to impress that on him; I wasn’t sure if he understood its significance.“That’s like getting caught with your hand in the till.It’s hard to say you’re innocent when they catch you that way.”I paused.Either Benjie was unaffected by what I was saying, or hismind was on hold.His face looked blank.
“Maybe I should come back another time.”I started to get up.
“Don’t.Say what you have to.”
What he was thinking, I knew, wasGet it over with, then get out and leave me alone.WhatIwas thinking was that Benjie didn’t deserve Cooper, but then, it wasn’t the first time I’d thought it.On the one hand, I wanted to like Benjie.I wanted to be compassionate.The kid had lost his parents in a tragic way, and even before that his life had been hard.It was sad that he acted out, sad that he thought getting drunk was macho, sad that he wasn’t in therapy.
But damn it, it was sad only to a point.Past that point, it was hard finding compassion for a boy—man—who seemed without a drop of it for anyone else, least of all his own brother.
I contemplated leaving, simply to be free of Benjie, who set me on edge each time I was with him.Then I thought of Cooper’s predicament and settled back in the chair.
“I was saying,” I repeated, quite willing to drill it into Benjie’s head, “that the diamonds were found in Cooper’s cabin.Someone obviously put them there.”
“You already know what I think,” Benjie said and turned around to drag an opened bag of potato chips from the shelf.
“He was framed.But by whom?And why?You work on the boat, Benjie.Do you think it was one of the others?”
“How should I know?”he mumbled through a mouthful of chips.
“You should know because you work with them.”
“So does Cooper.Does he know?”
“He says he’ll vouch for each of them.”
Benjie’s mouth twisted dryly.“Smart Cooper,” he muttered under his breath.
“What’s that supposed to mean?”
He shrugged.“That he knows.If he says they’re innocent, they’re innocent.”
I decided to overlook his sarcasm.“Maybe not.Maybe there are some things he doesn’t see.Maybe there are some things you can see that Cooper, being captain of the boat, can’t see.”
“I doubt it.”He shoved more chips into his mouth.
“Think, Benjie.Think.”
“You think I haven’t?”He chewed fast, then swallowed.I could see that he was angry, but if his anger produced even the slightest clue, it was worth it.“What do you want me to do—pull something out of thin air just to give you someone to blame?You love Cooper.In your eyes, he’s perfect.You’d probably be happy to pin this onanyoneelse just to clear him.”
“I want the guilty party found.That’s all.”
“And then what?You’ll drum it into Cooper’s head that you’ve saved his life, so he’ll be forever beholden to you?He won’t marry you, y’know.He won’t ever marry you.”
I was taken aback by the venom in his tone.Itsounded as though he hated me, but I couldn’t imagine why.Okay, so we’d never been the best of friends, and that had created some tension because Cooper and Iwerethe best of friends.But Benjie and I had never come to blows.I closely guarded the feelings I had about him, so that no one but Swansy—and now Peter—knew them.I’d never shared them with Cooper.I would never bad-mouth Benjie to him.
Rather than take the defensive and argue that Benjie’s reasoning was all wrong, I said, “Of course, Cooper won’t marry me—any more than I’d marry him.”
