Page 49 of Devil and the Deep Blue Fish

“Yeah,” Jackson said, his voice softening. “I told you I’d vouch for you when you were ready, Cody. I thought I’d give you a few more months to get your life together, that’s all.” He sighed and told thewholetruth. “And Henry’s out of commission, and Ellery won’t let me investigate without backup.”

Gabriel frowned. “Out of commission—”

“It’s a long story,” Jackson said, and out of nowhere his stomach growled. “But it’s a good one,” he added. “You got any clothes that fit?”

“Some,” Cody said, “as you well know since Ellery brought them. Would you like me to change?” He glanced down at himself. “Of course you would—”

“Bring the good ones,” Jackson said. “But wear those. Our first stop is at a rehab facility. Somebody is hanging around there, trolling for… well, I’m not sure what. But I figured I’d go and be official—”

“And I’d go and be a client,” Cody said, getting it immediately. “I hear you. Let me pack my knapsack and give Clive and Poppy some food.”

“I know what a Poppy is,” Jackson said, referring to the tiny Chihuahua mix that Cody had acquired during the adventure that had brought him and Jackson together. “What’s a Clive?” At that moment, a ragged, long-haired black-and-white cat appeared on the windowsill of the trailer again, his once-handsome white whiskers ravaged and torn, and part ofhis twitching tail missing. “Oh.” Jackson smiled at the cat’s imperious batting against the glass. “That’sa Clive. Indoor only?”

“He has to be,” Cody muttered. “There are freeway onrampseverywhere.I’m surprised he survived this long.”

Jackson nodded. “Yeah—once Billy Bob got fixed, he had no urge to wander anyway. It’s like he’s been born to soft food on special plates, you know?”

Cody chuckled. “Come in, have a soda. I’ll pack, and you can fill me in on the job.” He paused before he opened the sliding glass door. “I hope Henry’s okay,” he said seriously. “You all were so kind to me, not just during the trial but afterward. Henry brought me Poppy when the rehab center would let me have him.” As Cody stepped into the foyer of the trailer, he kicked off his work boots and then bent to greet the tiny black dog who had run up to him, tail wagging fiercely.

“Hello, fella,” Cody said gently, scooping him up in his arms. The wild little tongue went crazy on Cody’s chin, and Cody laughed a bit and allowed the doggy kisses before he handed the creature to Jackson.

Jackson and Poppy regarded each other soberly before Poppy curled up in the crook of Jackson’s arm and started to clean his wrist with singular dedication.

“Alrighty then,” Jackson said, soothed by the little dog as he didn’t think muchcouldsoothe him right now. “I guess he remembers me?”

The trailer was laid out with the kitchen to the left and a small living room to the right. Jackson knew there were a bathroom and two bedrooms past the kitchen, all the rooms and necessities fitted together like tiny puzzle pieces, but he still felt like a deep breath would cause the whole place to explode like the Hulk’s clothes.

Carefully, trying not to make his shoes thump on the hollow floor beneath his feet, he settled into the surprisingly comfortable tweed sofa, Poppy still tucked against his ribs.

Cody reached into the fridge and came out with a couple of sodas, and Jackson accepted one gratefully. He realized he had a low-level caffeine headache working and wanted to kick himself for not even remembering coffee.

Jackson took a healthy swallow as Cody grabbed a chair from the tiny kitchen table and swung it around, straddling it while he chugged his own soda.

“Okay, so talk,” he said after his first gulp.

“Well, I was going to take you to lunch first,” Jackson told him, sighing when the sugar hit his bloodstream. “Seriously—I’m starving, and we’ve got a lot of ground to cover.”

Gabriel shook his head. “Nope. You had me at ‘I’ve got a job,’ son. I am losing my mind with boredom here if you haven’t noticed. I’ve got sandwich fixin’s and more soda where that came from. You sit there and pet my creatures and we can hash this out right now.” He took another gulp of soda, killing it in a couple of chugs.

“You’re harshing my ‘Jackson’s got his shit together’ vibe,” Jackson admitted, but the dog really was a magic talisman against stress. “But since I almost passed out in autopsy thirty minutes ago, I’ll take it.”

“Ugh—not my favorite place, the morgue,” Cody said, swinging his leg around the sturdy wooden chair and replacing it at the table. “What brought you there—” He paused his stride to the refrigerator. “Not Hen—”

“No!” Jackson blurted. “No—no, don’t say that. But heisin the hospital, so’s you knows.”

“Well, shit.” Gabriel swung the fridge door open and started pulling out mayo, mustard, lunch meat, tomatoes, onions, and pickles, and Jackson’s mouth started to water. He was going toget up and make those vague motions people did about helping, but the cat chose that moment to leap out of the windowsill and onto his lap, unashamedly purring and rubbing up against Jackson’s chest.

“This is fun,” Jackson said in surprise, and Gabriel glanced over at him, a smile making his foxlike features almost angelic.

“Yeah, Clive’s a slutbag. I woke up one morning and he was on my step, his paw all bloody. I brought him inside, and you know Poppy—that little goober is bomb proof, but he’s also sort of a nurse. Checks on Clive, checks on me, makes sure we’re okay. Anyway, I bandaged the foot, bought some kibble, and risked giving him a bath—he was fine. Got him to the vets and got him fixed, and we’ve been roommates ever since.” Cody sobered. “Perfect friends for a recovering junkie. Can’t run off and score because you gotta pay the vet bills. And who could betray those little faces, right?”

Jackson rubbed Clive’s ears, and the cat collapsed onto his lap in ecstasy while Poppy continued her cleansing of his other arm. “Your creatures seem more… uhm, affectionate than the ones I’m used to dealing with.”

“Hee!”

It was an unexpected sound from such a hard man, and Jackson glanced at him quickly as he pressed a free hand to his mouth, his eyes dancing over it. So pretty, Jackson thought a little wistfully. So broken. It’s a good thing he was in love with Ellery, because otherwise he’d be happily engaged in a trainwreck of brokenness with this man, he had no doubt.

Cody schooled his features. “I’ve met your cats,” he said, shoulders still shaking a little. “Trust me, I’m aware.” He gave Jackson a wistful glance of his own. “But then, I’m not sure you’d trust all that open affection on tap.”

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