Page 5 of Having HIs Back

“I’m glad I could help.” Brian’s stomach rumbled, and he excused himself. “I’ll be in touch as soon as I have anything.” He left the house and paused at the sidewalk out front, looking up and down the quiet residential street.

There were only so many ways to get into the garage, and he was convinced someone knew something. Brian turned to both sides of the house and then looked across the street. Every house seemed quiet, with lights on, but no other activity.

“Do you need something?” Kerry asked as he came outside.

“Maybe…,” Brian pondered as Kerry padded down the walk in slippers. “Do you know the neighbors?”

“Some. My sister rents the house, and a lot of the others here are renters as well. Karen has been here for quite a while, and she owns her home as far as I know. There are renters over there, and an elderly couple across the street.” He pointed to a light blue ranch-style home. “They might have seen something because they’re the neighborhood busybodies, at least according to Caroline.” Just saying the name sent a wave of hurt across Kerry’s features.

“I’m so sorry about your sister,” Brian said, hoping that the opening-up portion of the evening wasn’t over. “What was she like?”

“Caroline? She was a fun person. Loved to do things with the boys. She put all her effort into them. As for rest of her life… well, Caroline was a loser magnet. She met these guys who were nice enough, but when things got tough, they were gone like a fart in the wind. One left her after Henry was born, and another took off unexpectedly. It was after that she found out she was going to have Phillip. She said good riddance to both of them and raised the boys herself. I believe she got child support for Henry. Mostly, Caroline was one of those people who loved life and didn’t let the shit that came her way get her down. She knew what was important.”

“Do you have the names of these guys?” Brian asked.

“Henry’s father was Reggie Weathers. I met him once, but I haven’t seen him at all since. He lives somewhere in Seattle. At least that’s what Caroline told me a while ago. As far as I know, his support checks came in every month, and he hasn’t made an effort to see Henry at all. I believe she might have told me that Reggie got married and has a family of his own.”

Brian nodded. “I’ll check it out. Make sure he’s up to date on his payments.”

“She had sole custody,” Kerry told him. “And if you talk to him, make sure he knows that I will fight him if he tries to get custody. I have Caroline’s will, and she states that he walked out on his son on multiple occasions and that he isn’t to get Henry. My sister could be blunt as all hell.”

“I get that.” Brian nodded and made a few notes. “Has she had a boyfriend since Phillip was born?”

“I don’t know. She dated a little last year, but nothing seemed to last. The last time we talked about that sort of thing, she was giving me grief for my dating habits.” He smiled a little. “I don’t think she had a boyfriend at the time of her death. When we spoke a week ago, she told me that she was putting her energy into the boys.”

“Okay. I still think this was done by someone close to her. I don’t think it was a thief or someone passing the house. They knew her well enough that she let them lure her out to the garage, probably so that they could talk without the boys hearing.”

“That makes sense, I guess. But I don’t really know who it could be.” Kerry’s eyes widened. “Do you think one of the boys might know?”

“I don’t know. That’s why I need to speak to them. It’s not like we can use their testimony in court. Children aren’t considered reliable witnesses. It’s felt that they can be easilycoerced. But anything that they might know could help us in finding who is behind this.”

“Let me talk to the boys and see if I get a sense of anything. But I have to say that if either of them saw anything, the most likely one is Henry. That could explain some of the reasons behind his withdrawal. He’s only six, and if he saw something that really disturbed him, he wouldn’t know what to do with it, so his system is sort of overloaded.” Kerry wiped his eyes. “It isn’t bad enough that he lost his mother, but to have this sort of trauma heaped on top of it….”

“Do you think you can help him?” Brian asked.

“Yes. But only up to a degree. I’m a relative, and I’m probably too close to him to be truly effective, but I’ll contact a friend who does excellent work with child witnesses. She has had excellent results not only in getting children to open up, but in getting them on the path to start healing. I thought I’d give her a call this evening.”

“Good. Please do whatever the kids need. I’ve contacted child services, and they’ll be in touch tomorrow to ensure you have any and all the support Phillip and Henry need.” He was wearing out, and after shaking hands with Kerry, Brian returned to his car, making notes on the things he wanted to do the following morning. Then he pulled away from the small house and headed home to his apartment on the south side of town.

As he walked inside, he put his keys on the table and locked up his gun. Then he put a frozen dinner in the microwave and sat at the table. He was really getting tired of all these days alone, but it seemed that was his lot in life. All the boyfriends he’d had in the past seemed to tire of his work schedule and the fact that he got calls at all hours. Most guys only took so much of that before they packed their stuff and were gone. So he wasn’t hopeful about the future, even if there were sex-on-a-stick hot guys out there like Kerry.

ChapterThree

Kerry wokein the middle of the night, uncomfortable as hell, the sofa hitting him in all the wrong places. He hadn’t been able to bring himself to sleep in Caroline’s bed, so he’d watched TV until his eyes grew heavy and hoped he could sleep. It had worked for a few hours, but now it seemed his mind was way too active. He got up and went to check on the boys.

They were in the same bed, with Pebbles between them. Each boy had a hand resting on the dog. Pebbles lifted his head when Kerry peered into the room, but didn’t make a sound. “I know. You’ll watch over them,” he told the dog, who lowered his head again, and Kerry left. They were safe, and he hoped the boys were dreaming of happier things than the fact that their mother was gone. At least they could have a rest from their grief. Kerry’s seemed to stay with him no matter what.

He returned to the sofa and turned on the television, finding a late-night rerun marathon and proceeding to ignore it.Three’s Companywas dated and didn’t hold his interest. He kept the volume low and eventually fell sleep.

He cracked his eyes open as a weight joined him on the sofa. Pebbles pranced around Kerry’s feet until he moved them and then settled down. The boys sat on the living room floor, watching cartoons in their pajamas. Phillip got up when he realized Kerry was awake and came over. He rolled onto his side, pressing to the back cushions, and Phillip lay down in front of him. He didn’t say anything, and Kerry didn’t want to break the quietness around them, holding Phillip as they watched SpongeBob’s antics.

“Are you hungry?” Kerry asked after a while. Phillip nodded. Henry turned to look at him and then turned back to the television. “Then I should get up and make you something to eat.”

“Cereal,” Phillip said. Kerry waited to see if Henry expressed a preference, but he shrugged, and Kerry went to the small kitchen and got some cereal in bowls with milk. The boys sat at the table and ate in silence.

“Go ahead and brush your teeth and get dressed,” Kerry told them. Phillip hurried off, but Henry sat staring at his empty bowl. Kerry went over to him and waited. Finally, Henry slid off the chair and stood still, like he didn’t know what to do. Kerry lifted him up and held him tightly. He understood the loss and how it made you feel hollow and empty. Kerry had the words to express those feelings, but Henry and Phillip didn’t. So, he just hugged him, and Henry put his arms around Kerry and buried his face in his neck, finally letting the tears come.

“I want Mama,” Henry said softly into his ear. “I just want my mama.” The request was so reasonable, and Kerry’s heart broke for him.

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