Page 53 of The White Picket Fence

Greene looked reluctantly impressed. “I thought you’d let that detail fly over your head.”

Vito just smiled at him. “How did he buy himself a house?”

Greene hesitated. “If he comes back here, I won’t live a single week.”

“Harrisburg,” Vito said quietly, and Greene nodded.

“Okay. Well, like I said, he dealt in information and favors. One of the inmates was a tiny little guy. So young and way skinnier than me. His mama was worried that he’d die in here, so she agreed—through her son—to whatever Kevin demanded.”

“Name of this inmate?” Vito asked.

“He won’t know it came from me?”

“Nope.”

“Okay. Jason Ruskin. He’s really just a kid. Was barely eighteen when he got here. But he comes from money. Was sentenced to three to five. His first day, I thought he’d pass out from the fear. Anyway, Kevin heard that Jason’s mama started bawling on her first visit, and that was all he needed to know that he had a sucker.”

“So Jason’s mother facilitated the home purchase?” Vito asked, sounding skeptical.

Greene shrugged. “I thought the same thing, like what kind of dope was Kevin smokin’? But then Kevin shows me photos of the place. Nice little house with a picket fence. Blue. Gingerbread trim. Bay windows. Tin roof. Cherry tree out front.”

Another shiver ran down Tino’s spine. That was the same kind of house he’d told Charlotte that he wanted for them twenty-four years ago. How had Hale known?

“How did Kevin pay for it?” Vito asked.

“I don’t know. Robbing a liquor store was what landed him in here, but that didn’t seem like it would be enough to buy a house.”

Vito nodded slowly, his expression thoughtful. “Did he say where this house was?”

“No, but if your sketch artist wants, I can describe it and he can draw it.”

“Yes,” Tino said. Because that might be where Hale was hiding.

“In a moment,” Vito said, giving Tino a back-off look.

Tino wanted to argue, but he bit his tongue.

“Talk to me about the information Hale got through the favors,” Vito said.

“News. Contacts. Places to work when he got out. He wanted to work for a construction company. Wanted to learn to build and fix stuff, so that he could work on his house, but nobody would hire him. Not right outta here. But one of the guys—name’s Oscar—got work in a restaurant in the city. Old City, I think. Sushi.” He made a face. “I hate sushi. Kevin went to work there after he got out, according to Oscar. Oscar’s a nice guy.”

Not anymore, Tino thought sadly. Because Oscar Dupree was dead.

“Was any of the news regarding Charlie?” Vito asked.

“Oh yeah. More than half, I’d wager.” He shook his head. “But that didn’t come from Oscar. One of the other guys’ wives would run internet searches on this woman. Charlotte Walsh. Kevin was really furious when she got hurt. Some guy in Memphis broke into her house and stabbed her. Been about a year now. Kevin kept muttering about how the guy was dead as soon as he got out of here.”

And now Charlotte’s attacker was dead as well. Hale had solicited the man’s murder in the Memphis prison just days after his release from the prison in Philly.

“Did Hale keep photos of her?” Vito asked.

“Oh yeah.” Greene grimaced. “Kept them hidden so that the guards didn’t find them. Jacked off to them sometimes. Groaned so loud, he woke me up too many times. It was not easy being that guy’s cellmate, I hafta say.”

Tino felt fury slowly burning him from the inside out, but he ignored it.Stay focused. He’ll pay for what he did to Charlotte and Mrs. J and all the others.

“Pleasant,” Vito said with a grimace of his own.

“Right?” Greene agreed. “One was her wedding picture. It was old, a clipping from a newspaper. He’d pasted a photo of his own face over the husband’s. Kevin just ain’t right.”

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