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“Nah.” I could hear the satisfied smile in Lucky’s voice. “After your last trip up here, your dad got a lot worse, not even Kenny and Ed could stand him anymore. When he couldn’t find a decent crew, he couldn’t bring in a decent haul, therefore he couldn’t make his payments.”
“Shit, Lucky, I would have thought he’d have owned that piece-of-shit boat by now.”
“Not the way he drank and whored around. He was constantly taking out mortgages against it. He lost the boat about five months ago. He was lucky they let him take his possessions off her before they padlocked her.”
It all came together for me then.
“And that was how he got this bright idea,” I muttered.
“What?”
“He’s come down here to Jasper Creek and is saying he owns the house that my Mama and brother were making payments on these last twenty years.”
“You have got to be kidding me. Wait, never mind. You’re not. This is Ronald Davies we’re talking about; of course you’re not kidding.”
“Do you know anybody up there in Dillingham who might know where he is right now, or how to get in touch with him?”
“Hell, Kai, he’s burnt every bridge he ever had. Turns out that woman who home-schooled you was only his second-cousin, not his sister. Those kids of hers hate his ass, so they wouldn’t be of any help.”
That explained a lot. “I understand.”
“I’ll check in at the two bars he spent most of his time at. See if anybody there has any ideas.”
“I sure would appreciate it.”
“Kai, it would be my pleasure. However, if you ever ghost me and the boys like that again, we’re going to come find you and kick your ass. We’re not going to give a shit if you’re disabled or not. Got it?”
I laughed out loud and saw a couple of heads turn my way. “I got it, Lucky.”
“Good. I’ll call you back.”
“Thanks Lucky, I appreciate this.”
“You’re welcome.”
After I hung up with Lucky, I didn’t have as much interest in looking up Principal Sykes and Denny Rasmussen. I was too busy thinking about how good I’d had it with the men I had worked with out on the Bering Sea. Ronald might have been a twisted piece of shit, but he’d hired some of the best men in the world.
“Look at you, you’re eating that up like a champ.”
I stroked Chaos’ ears as she licked up the food I’d brought her. She’d been having a nap when I’d first arrived.
“Marlowe, that smells so good that I’d like to eat it,” Kizzie said as she bumped her shoulder with mine.
I looked over at the petite veterinarian and smiled. “Don’t tell her doctor, but sometimes her mother gives her pumpkin pie which she adores. That’s why I found this dog food recipe with pumpkin puree.”
“Don’t I smell cinnamon?” she asked me.
“Yeah, I put in a little sugar and cinnamon. I figure what the hell, let’s make every meal taste like dessert. If I could do that for myself, I sure would.”
Kizzie grinned. She reached around me and gently lifted up the bandage on Chaos’ side. Chaos whimpered. I started to pet her behind her ear and she settled.
“Her incision is looking good,” Kizzie smiled up at me. “She’s responding well to her treatment. I think she can go home with you by the end of the week.”
“If I have a home,” I muttered.
“What?”
“Nothing. Just a little kerfuffle.”
