Page 88 of Borden 3

That wasn’t good enough.

Hawke learned soon after that there were no hospital records kept that far back. He tried to google it, but for someone who had been incarcerated himself, technology frustrated the shit out of him.

He knocked on fucking doors instead. He went through that whole apartment building, rounding up the old, searching for either a name of the paralyzed boy or the ringleader.

—

“How long is this story going to take?” Borden asked.

“This is the short version.”

“I need it shorter.”

Hawke glared at Borden. “The shit you made me do, you know. I didn’t even have to find this fucking kid.”

“You never told me about it, so how could I have fucking known?”

“Well, I found a name.”

“Theo?”

“At first, no, it was a girl’s name. Apparently, she’d run her mouth to a number of people about being part of this boy’s fan club.”

“Let’s jump to that.”

“Her name was Julia.”

—

Julia was a hairdresser with the big hair and done-up face. She operated out of her own basement studio where she got to chimney smoke as she cut hair, talking shit to her clients. Secretly, she was a mule for one of the gangs. They were too small time for Borden to give a fuck about. They kept to themselves, selling basic shit like pills and weed.

When Hawke came through the door, Julia had just finished with her client and was sweeping up the floor. She glanced up as the entrance bell rang, her smoke dangling at the corner of her mouth.

Her eyes widened as she gaped at Hawke. Instead of being wary though, she squealed. “What do I owe the pleasure, big guy?”

As her young client paid and fled in fear of him, Hawke cut through the room, glancing around the basement. “I need some answers. You can buy yourself some salon shit on the house if you answer them truthfully.”

“Well, you don’t need to do that. I’m happy to help the big guy upstairs.” She pointed upwards, like she was talking about God or some shit.

Hawke raised a brow. “I’m here on account of Borden—”

“Yeah, the big guy.”

Kay.

She cracked a can of coke and sat down on one of the salon chairs. He stayed standing, determined not to be here long.

“Been hearing some things and your name was mentioned. You used to hang around the streets growing up, didn’t you?”

Julia shrugged. “‘Course. Nothing to do in New Raven when you’re young, dumb and broke.”

“You must have heard about Officer Young’s death.”

Julia tilted her head to the side, staring curiously at him now. “You sound like a cop.”

Hawke choked out a laugh. “I ain’t a fucking cop.”

“But you’re Borden’s man, so in a way, you’re sort of like a cop but not of the law, right?”

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