Page 22 of The Cartographer

“Arrests,” he blurts out, his flush turning his light tan skin a shade of pink I adore.

Not shocking. “For what?”

“Gang activity.”

“Recently?”

“No, sir. All juvenile offenses. Recently, he’s had a string of jobs, mostly in construction, landscaping, that kind of thing. Almost as many addresses. Only one phone number and only one email address.”

Smart of him, even if it weren’t for his sister. Makes it easier for employers to find you and to keep your life in order. It also tells me he likely doesn’t have creditors hounding him.

“Before that?”

“Before that, service in the military. Army, to be more precise.”

“Enlisted or officer?”

“Enlisted. Infantry. His record’s a bit unusual. He got special dispensation to enlist despite his record and his, um, tattoos.”

Right. The military used to not be particularly fond of ink until you belonged to them. They’ve loosened that rule, but back when Hart would’ve joined up, basically anything from a prior life wouldn’t have been okay. Even now, they’re not so keen on things that could be recognized as gang symbols, and it’s hard to blame them for that.

“How? Someone go to bat for him? Were they having a hard time meeting recruitment goals that year?”

“He went before a judge who gave him the choice to join up or go to jail.”

“His service record?”

“Impeccable.”

“No criminal activity since then?”

“None, sir.”

I nod slowly, considering what to do with this information. No wonder he’s had difficulty finding employment. Between wanting to be around for his sister, his tattoos that might clue some people in to his past, and the notorious difficulty of getting civilian employers to see the value in the skills you acquired in the military, it’s not surprising he’s been stuck in fly-by-night jobs.

“Thank you, Matthew. I’m going to the den to review this. Meet me in there with some coffee and whatever you’d like to drink.”

“Yes, sir.”

*

Two hours later,I’m shutting Hart’s file. Matthew’s been sitting on the floor at my feet working on his laptop, while I’ve been reading in my favorite chair. I ask him questions when I have them, though there aren’t many because he’s thorough and well-organized. Everything I’d like to know is in here. Including a bit of information I wasn’t expecting.

I knew Hart felt a strong sense of responsibility toward his sister, and I’d chalked it up to filial devotion. Given what I know now, I have to wonder if it isn’t something more than that, if guilt isn’t the backbone of his motivation.

Shortly after Hart had attended basic training—or rather, the infantry version of basic training—his sister had married one of his division mates, man named Lamar. It wasn’t so long after that they had their first deployment, and while they were away, Kendra had their first child.

Military life can be hard on a family, and it looks as though Kendra picked up and went wherever her husband was stationed. Lamar moved up the ranks faster than Allie, and Allie had left when he could’ve chosen to sign up for another haul. Perhaps because he didn’t want her to be left with nothing if her husband were killed or disabled? Of course, it doesn’t say in these papers, but the movie is playing out pretty clearly in my mind.

He moved around with Kendra and the kids, picking up odd jobs as he could. Then what he’d likely been worried about happened. Lamar got killed during deployment to Afghanistan.

There are substantial death benefits when someone’s killed in the line of duty, but those don’t last forever. Between moving, paying off any debts they might’ve had, and…living, I wouldn’t be surprised if that cushion was gone. Even if it’s not, a family would probably want to be judicious in its use.

Hart’s made it abundantly clear he’s not interested in charity so I’m not going to offer him money, but surely,surely, helping him find lucrative employment he is in fact qualified for wouldn’t count as charity? Besides, what’s the worst thing he could do? Tell me to fuck off? He’s done it before.

For the most part, I don’t tolerate disrespectful language from my clients or anyone in my charge, and if Matthew ever dared, he’d find himself on the receiving end of some terribly firm discipline, even if I had to rely on Peter to administer it. Allie swearing at me gives me some kind of perverse pleasure, though, one I’ll be sure not to let on about.

So, decision made. It’s time to deploy Operation Employ Hart.

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