And then,Please.
And then again,Please.
It had always worked when they’d been in care together.
He sent about seven more of those before she texted back,Make your boyfriend do it.
Jem sent an emoji with a halo.And then the one that might be praying, or begging, or saying thank you.
You are useless, Tinajas wrote back.I want tickets to the Jazz this weekend.
You’re an angel in size nine lady boots.
Tinajas didn’t reply right away, which meant either he’d pushed it too far, or she’d given up and was doing the search.Sure enough, a few minutes later, the phone buzzed with a name:Robert Taylor.
Who’s that?Jem asked.
That’s the only person who owns land next to that address.Everything else is owned by an ag corp.
And then another message came through:Jazz tickets.Good ones.
And then:Now leave me the fuck alone.
He did leave her alone.But first he sent her a lot of heart emojis.
On the tablet, Jem went back through Kai’s senior yearbook more slowly this time.He wasn’t looking at their first names this time; he was looking for any Taylors.Nobody in Kai’s class, but that didn’t necessarily mean anything.He checked the grade below, and then the one below that, and then the one below that.
Nothing.
It was boring.It was so fucking boring.And his head was hurting again.And this was the kind of thing Tean was good at.But Jem was on to something; he could tell.And in a weird way, this felt like a way of making it up to Tean.For lying about his vows.And hewouldwrite them.Tomorrow.
After he gave up on Kai’s senior yearbook, Jem went back a year.He repeated the process, starting with Kai’s class, looking for anyone with the last name Taylor.Nothing.He checked the grade ahead of Kai, and then the two grades below.Still nothing.
Then, in Kai’s sophomore yearbook, he struck gold.
Scott Taylor.
He was a floppy-haired boy who held his head at an angle in the black-and-white photo.Thin, with big eyes and an uncertain smile, he gave off a definite fem vibe—although Tean would probably say that was only Jem’s imagination.
Jem hurried into the office.
“—yes, thank you,” Tean was saying.“I appreciate your time.”He disconnected.“Nobody was friends with Kai.Or they won’t admit to it, anyway.Not now that he’s wanted for the police in connection with a murder.”
“I found him,” Jem said.“Scott Taylor.”He planted the iPad on the desk and pointed to the photo.“Scott with an S.”
“What other kind of Scott is there?”Tean asked.But he bent over the iPad.He tapped the screen and scrolled and said, “He’s a senior.And Kai was a sophomore this year.They’re two years apart.”
“But people aren’t only friends with people their own age.And some guys have a thing for older men.”
Tean closed his eyes.
“Like me, for example,” Jem pointed out.
“Yes.I understood.”
“I’m totally into it.”
“Thank you.”
