Page 83 of Body Count

He didn’t say anything for a while.He pressed his own can of Pepsi against the red mark on his cheek.Then he caught me looking and gave a crooked smile.“You got in a couple of good ones.”

I shrugged, but I felt like I had to say, “You too.For a senior citizen.”

The crooked smile got a little bigger.Then it faded, and the crow’s feet deepened as he studied me.The silence swelled inside the kitchen.Sure, there were sounds—the hum of the refrigerator, the whisper of air conditioning, the distant whine of a weed eater.But it was still silence.And it kept growing.

“Did something happen with Darnell?”John-Henry finally asked.

“I don’t want to talk about it.”

My phone buzzed.With my good hand, I worked it out of my pocket—a little awkwardly—and saw Peterson’s name on the screen.I sent the call to voicemail, and the silence came rushing back in.

John-Henry opened his Pepsi.He took a sip.He leaned on the counter, still watching me.

“Don’t you have shit to do?”I asked.

“Not really.That’s one of the perks of an indefinite leave of absence.”

“I meant, like, chores.Isn’t that one of your kinks?”

“Funny you should mention that.I was doing a little cleaning before a maniac showed up on my porch and tackled me.”

The Pepsi was warming quickly, and it wasn’t doing much for my face anymore.I opened the can and took a drink.

He was still watching me.

I took out my vape.

“Not in the house.”

“Bro.”

He shrugged.

After a moment, I put my vape away again.“This is some adulting bullshit.You weren’t like this before Colt.”

“I didn’t have to be like this before Colt.”

And then he just kept watching me.

“Is this some parenting 101 stuff?Just standing there?Like eventually I’m going to say something?”

“You got it.”

I moved the can around.I thought about going outside to vape.Or, fuck it, just leaving.I mean, he couldn’t stop me.Well, maybe he could.He was freakishly strong for somebody with a serious case of the pre-forties.And his knee had definitely rearranged my guts, and not in the fun, sexy way.

“I’ve been working this case,” I said.I didn’t mean to say it; it just slipped out of me.So, maybe there was something to the parenting bullshit.“It’s…it’s pretty messed up.”

He was looking right at me, so I knew he’d heard me, but he didn’t say anything.

“It’s not even my case, not really.I guess that’s part of what’s so messed up about it.I found this kid—you heard about that?”

John-Henry nodded.

“I’m not stupid.”Then a jagged little smile crossed my mouth.“Evidence from today to the contrary.”The smile dropped away, and I said, “I know why I got so…so hung up on this.But it’s not only that.I mean, that’s not the only reason.Nobody else cared.It was just going to—to disappear.”

The silence pulled on me.Dragged.He still didn’t say anything, and a moment later, I was speaking again.

“Nobody cared about this kid.Tip.His name’s Tip.His boyfriend is pissed that Tip didn’t love him as much as he wanted, or the way he wanted.His other roommate was more of—I guess competition.His dad can’t stand having a gay son.His mom might love him, but she’s so wrapped up in herself that she didn’t even know he’d gone missing.She might love him too much.Love him in the wrong way.I don’t know; like I said, it’s all pretty fucked up.

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