Page 121 of Long Gone

I turned to face him, my back stiff. “He’s my father, and my mother took off out of town without telling us where she went. We had things to discuss that have nothing to do with you.”

“Do you expect me to actually believe that bullshit?” he ground out through gritted teeth.

“Why would I lie to you, James Malcolm?”

“To keep the upper hand.”

“If you think I’m hiding something, then why don’t you tell me something you’ve been keeping from me. Maybe it will jog something loose in my own memory.”

“Don’t play games, Detective,” he snapped.

“You’re the one playing games,” I shot back. “Why did Delaney call you Skeeter? Why does Carter?”

He flinched and hesitated for a fraction of a second before he said, “It’s a nickname.”

“Why doesn’t anyone at the tavern call you Skeeter?”

I didn’t think he was going to answer, but after a few seconds of silence, he said, “Because that nickname belonged in Fenton County.”

“Then why did Delaney use it?”

“Because she has a cousin in Fenton County. That’s how Hale found her.”

“Because you needed access to medical attention on the down low here in Lone County?” I asked smugly. “Why?”

“Because sometimes fights break out in the tavern, and I need some help patching people up.”

“Why don’t they just go to the ER like most normal people? Why didn’t you?”

He gave me a wry smile. “What can I say? I provide a full-service experience.”

I didn’t believe him. Not for a minute. “Why did you move to Lone County? And don’t give me a bullshit reason like you saw an opportunity for the tavern.”

“I needed a change of scenery, and I didn’t want to leave Arkansas.”

“Why?”

“Why didn’t you leave Arkansas?” he shot back.

“You know why,” I said, getting pissed. “I was flat broke after everything that went down in Little Rock. My father brought me back home.”

“You hate this town. You’d rather be pretty much anywhere else. Why have you stayed?”

“Because my sister’s here,” I spat at him, then instantly wished I could reel the words back in.

“She’s dead, Harper,” he said, quieter this time.

“You didn’t leave for the same reason,” I said, certainty setting in with the words. “There’s someone you care about in Fenton County. Maybe someone other than your brother. You feel a tie to the place.”

He released a bitter laugh. “I burned every fucking bridge I had to that shit heap. The only person who would talk to me was Hale.”

“So why stick around Arkansas?”

He pulled up to a stop sign then turned to face me with a slow, predatory smile. “I know how things work here.”

“No,” I said, studying his face. “I think you have unfinished business.”

His eyes turned cold. “Everyone has unfinished business. You have unfinished business. You’ve never forgiven yourself for what you see as failing your sister. Then there’s the mess you left behind in Little Rock. Do you expect me to believe you plan on letting them get away with the way they treated you? After they took everything from you?”

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