Page 19 of Without You, Scotch and Sammy 2

“So you know who I’m talking about?”

“Yeah, just vaguely. There’s a new chief Turner now.”

My brows knit and my stomach knots. I haven’t talked about this family in so long, it physically hurts me to do it. “Who’s the chief now?”

“Alex Turner. His son.”

“Alex?” My breath comes out on a whimsical sigh. Memories. So many memories battering at me; they’re both welcome and detested. I don’t want to remember. I want Lily.

“You know Alex?”

“Yeah, well, he was my boyfriend’s brother. I knew him well enough.”

Juliette pauses for a long minute. “Your boyfriend? Or your husband?”

“Well… My husband.”

She mumbles something unintelligible, but when I ask her to repeat it, she brushes me off. “Nothing. Never mind. My legal advice for you, Sammy, is to get this squared away. Yesterday.”

“This is like a client-lawyer confidentiality thing, right? Do you know them? You can’t tell them we spoke.”

“I don’t have an obligation to you, Sammy. But seeing as this is information I received while working on the Lytto case, I’m still bound by the law. I won’t say a thing. But I need you to take care of business, okay? I can’t help you until you tie up your loose ends.”

“Okay.”

She hesitates for a long minute, then softly, she murmurs, “Do it gently, alright?”

“Oh god! You know him?”

“Relax. I’m bound by law, and I hardly know him. I see him around town sometimes. We don’t even really know each other’s names.”

I fight the urge. I bite my lip. I curl my fingers into my palm in an effort to stop the words, but it’s all in vain. “How does he look? Is he happy?”

“He’s…” she hesitates, then clears her throat. “He’s practically a stranger to me, Sammy. I literally didn’t even know who Sam Turner was five minutes ago. I only know because you said his daddy was Chief.”

“But you know who he is. That you see him around. Does he smile?” Does he have a partner and family? He can’t have remarried, because I would have been served with divorce papers, but that doesn’t mean he didn’t move on. He might have a bunch of curly haired babies by now, and they might all sit around playing guitar and singing kumbaya in a gritty throaty voice.

“Sure, he smiles. I’ve seen it a time or two.”

“Does he--”

“Listen, I’ve gotta go, okay? Take care of that sweet little baby, and take care of business. If you’re coming to town, drop into the office and see me. If you’re taking care of it via mail, then I’ll see you when Lily’s case comes up. Don’t let her down, okay? She’s the most important person here, not a couple adults who decided not to stay together anymore. She’s depending on you.”

I nod even though no one can see me, then I clear my throat again. “Alright. I’ll take care of it.”

“Call me whenever you need. I’m emotionally invested in this case, and I want to help any way I can.”

“I appreciate it. I’ll talk to you later--”

“Hey, before you go,” she cuts me off. “How is she? Lily. Shari was an addict, and she went into pre-term labor, so I know Lily would have had problems…”

I smile and crane my neck to sniff at Lily’s scalp. She smells like candy. “She’s good. She’s still really small, and has a few medical issues. But all in all, she’s doing really well.”

“How small?”

“She’s currently seven and a bit pounds. The size of a newborn.”

“But she’s three months old now…”

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