Page 48 of JoyRide

He shrugged. “Dunno. Cooked, I guess.” He glanced at me. “What’s her name?”

“Tammy.” I pointed at Billy coming down the hall on his crutches. “That’s Billy. Our Dad is Travis, but he’s in the hospital.”

“I can’t stay here,” said Virge. “I’ve got shit to do.”

“Like what?” I asked. “Sit around in a crack house and drink and do drugs?”

Virgil shrugged.

“I want you to try living here with me for a couple of weeks. If it don’t work out, you can leave if you want. I won’t make you stay here.”

Tammy put a plate of food in front of each of us, then sat down to eat. “Monday morning,” she said. “We have jobs.”

“Yeah, you two are cops,” said Virgil. “Don’t take an idiot to figure that out.”

“Deputies working out of the sheriff’s office,” I said. “Not a bad job once you get used to it.”

“I hate cops,” said Virge. “Always on your ass.”

Billy nodded as he spread jam on his toast. “Yep. That’s one way to look at it.”

“I’ll give you some clean clothes and you can ride with me today. Tammy can partner with Ted. You don’t have to do anything. Just ride around and get your head together.”

“Sounds like the last fuckin thing I’d want to do.” Virgil sneered. “Ride around in a fuckin cop car. Might as well slit my own fuckin throat.”

I laughed. “Yeah, I bet it does feel weird. Same way I felt when Billy and Travis came and picked me up at the detention center.”

“You in detention too?”

“Sure. Two years I was in that fuckin hell-hole in Grand Falls.”

“I was in a different one down in Butte, but probably the same.”

“Most of them are the same,” said Billy.

Sheriff’s Office. Coyote Creek.

Virgil stared out the window and rode silent to the station in town. He had argued hard against going with me, but if I left him at the ranch he’d be gone for sure when we came home. I couldn’t risk that happening—wouldn’t risk it. Not after all this time without him.

Billy would stay at home for a couple more days, but I couldn’t leave my brother with Billy watching him. If Virge decided to run off, there wasn’t much Billy could do to stop him. Other than shoot him in the leg.

On the drive, Tammy talked a little to Virgil, but he wasn’t answering any of her questions. I gave her the stink-eye to make her stop quizzing him about his past and how he earned enough money to feed himself. Interesting to know, but for now we should ease up on him.

Leaving him alone for a few days was the better way to go. Let him get to know us and settle down a bit. He had to learn to trust me all over again.

His health was another issue. I had no idea of the quantity of opiates Virge had in his body. Might take days to get the drugsout of his system. Was he an addict? Did he need to go to rehab to clean himself up?

No way he was going to tell me.

I parked the squad in my spot at the back of the station and we piled out. Virgil glanced around and followed me and Tammy and the dogs inside.

I showed him around the station, took him into the break room and poured him a mug of coffee. Already made—thanks to Molly.

“What the hell am I supposed to do around here all fuckin day? Sure as hell don’t want my friends to see me in here.”

“I doubt if your friends will see you here, Virge. You’re miles from your crack house way down in Conrad East.”

“I’ll stay in here and drink coffee. I don’t want you parading me around like your long-lost fuckin brother.”

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