“Yeah. What you said.” Josie’s mouth turns down. “I’m not looking forward to telling her.”
“I’ll do it.”
“You’ll do what?”
“I’ll tell her.” I pull Cole’s body back in place.
“You don’t even know her.”
I shrug. “Makes it easier for me. You don’t need to do hard stuff, rebel. That’s what you have me for. We done here?”
“I thought you were for bump prevention and sex.”
“And all the hard stuff.” I wink, trying to lighten the mood.
Josie gives me a half smile. “Innuendos at a crime scene. We’re practically pros at this.” She gets to her feet and is about to leave before she spins back. “Let’s check his shoes.”
I reach over and pull off the Jordans. A folded piece of paper falls out of the right one. Josie lets out a small squeak of triumph. When she smooths it out, all it has is a series of numbers.
“A locker combo,” I suggest.
“Not a school locker. That’s three numbers. This is five.”
“Maybe one of the bigger ones?”
“Possibly. It’s not a phone number. Could be an address? I’ll search it on the internet later.” She loosens the laces on the shoes.
“You taking a souvenir?” It seems out of character.
“No. I want to put them back on him. He was one of us, you know? We can’t really bury him, but at least we can leave him with his shoes on.”
I help Josie put Cole back together. Now that she’s brought it up, it does bother me that he was left on the concrete like this. Whatever family he has should be told.
“Besides your friend, Carrie, does Cole have any other family?” I ask as we walk toward the battered door of the warehouse.
“An older sister, but she doesn’t live around here, and their dad, but I guess the dad’s abusive. That’s why the sister left.”
“She abandoned her brother?”
Josie sighs. “Carrie says Cole never held it against his sister. She couldn’t defend herself. Cole felt better after she left.”
“Could his dad have done this?” I jerk my finger over my shoulder.
“It’s possible, but why here at the warehouse? This is like two miles away from where Cole lives. It doesn’t add up for me, but I won’t rule it out.”
“Don’t go talking to the father without me,” I warn. An old man with a heavy hand isn’t going to take this news kindly.
“Because you’re my assistant?”
“It falls under the anti-bumping category. And because I’m your assistant.”And because from now on, I don’t plan to leave your side.
Chapter Six
JOSIE
Bam flips the hook to the chain-link fence, opening it for me. I head up the sidewalk and the stairs that lead to the small patio of my home. The house once belonged to my grams before she died a few years ago.
Grams was more of a mom to me than a grandma. Living with her allowed Dad to keep his job and raise me. He’s always made good money trucking, and that was how he was able to keep both of us on his insurance.
