Page 4 of I Found You
My brother Luke had been on the Calla Bay Police Department for five years. He wanted to join the CBPD right out of high school, but our mother made him promise to get a degreefirst, and when you make your dying mother a promise, you better damn well hold to it. So he did. It wasn’t that Mom didn’t like the idea of Luke becoming a police officer; it was just that she thought he was too young to put his life on the line.
Luke was a serious kind of guy. He wasn’t always like that, but somewhere along the way, he just stopped remembering how to let loose and have fun. It was probably great for his career but fucking frustrating as his brother.
He answered on the third ring. His voice was groggy and hoarse.
“What’s up?”
“It’s 5:30 in the fucking morning. Did you think I was calling to chat?” Probably not the best opening line since I was about to lay a bunch of shit on him. Oh well. “Get up. I need you at my house.”
“I’m on my way.” I could hear him moving around over the phone line. He wouldn’t waste any time getting here. “Did something happen last night at the bar? Celebrate your birthday a bit too hard in your old age, brother?” he tried to joke, but I could tell he was worried.
“Door’s unlocked. Just walk in when you get here,” I told him before ending the call.
Living in a small town could be a huge pain in the ass sometimes. Everyone seemed to know your business and, even worse, knew your parents and how to get in touch with them to tell them your business. The number of times my father found out about my juvenile antics before I even walked in the door could fill a book. But the good thing about small towns was that it never took more than ten minutes to get from point A to point B.
Wes and I were still in the bathroom with Baby Girl when Luke walked into a shitshow.
“Fuck, Wy. That’s disgusting. How is that rancid smell coming from such a small person?” Wes said, holding his shirt over his mouth.
“Just help me wash it off. I can’t hold her and clean this up at the same time.”
“Absolutely not. I’m not touching you or her. Not until she’s clean again.”
“Stop looking at her like that. You’re scaring her. That’s why she’s crying,” I told him, trying to keep her little butt over the bathroom sink and away from my hands as the most offensive-smelling shit exploded from her body.
“What in the ever-loving fuck is happening right now?” bellowed Luke.
“Oh, thank God you’re here. Grab a washcloth and help me clean her,” I told him.
“Who is she? Where are her parents, and why did they leave you in charge of her?” Luke asked as he wet a washcloth and tried to hand it to me.
“Ah, my hands are a little full right now, brother,” I said as I held the baby in both hands away from my body while cradling her head. Good thing I had big hands. “I need you to clean her up.”
Luke put the washcloth on the bathroom counter and took Baby Girl from me, holding her in the same position. “Not happening, but I’ll hold her while you clean her up. And talk. Lots of talking needs to be happening right now.” He gave me that look, the Serious Luke glare.
“I was just holding her, and she just started taking a dump right on me. Is it normal for baby poop to be this green?” Ilooked between him and Wes.
Neither bothered to answer me.
“What do you know about this?” Luke asked, turning to Wes.
“You need to ask your brother.” Wes was now leaning up against the wall by the shower, back to his stoic self, pretending that he wasn’t just having a hissy fit over baby shit. He and Luke often didn’t see eye to eye. Luke was a straight-laced kind of guy. Fun when he could be. Serious when he had to be. And always followed the rules. Wes, not so much. He’d started a private investigation agency a few years back, and as it turned out, police were not huge fans of private citizens investigating things. Luke was my brother, and I loved him. Wes had been like a brother to me since we were in grade school, and I loved that fucker too. They’d learned to play nice around each other, most of the time.
I finished cleaning the baby up and took her back from Luke. “I have to go change my shirt again. Give me five minutes,” I told him.
“Don’t bother putting it in the laundry. Just burn it,” Wes called after me.
Five minutes later, I found Luke sitting in my recliner in my living room and Wes making a pot of coffee in the kitchen.
I went to the kitchen first. Coffee was going to be a necessity to get through this conversation with Luke. He was going to flip. Baby Girl was still a little fussy, even after that explosion, but I held her on my chest and shoulder and gently patted her little bare butt. It seemed to help calm her.
With my coffee in one hand and the baby in the other, I made my way over to the couch, giving my coffee to Luke to hold while I sat down with her. I told Wes that he could takeoff, knowing he had an interview this morning to fill a role at his agency.
“I’m not going anywhere. Shit’s about to hit the fan, Wy. I still have time, and if I have to reschedule it, I will. Hell, it’s the day after the Fourth of July. The kid would probably be happy to have it rescheduled.”
I repeated the story from the beginning for Luke. He sat silently, listening as I told him everything I could remember, although there were parts of the night that were still blurry. When I finished, Luke got up and walked out, not saying a word. I turned and looked at Wes, both of us sporting very confused looks. Luke wasn’t gone longer than two minutes, returning with a notebook and pen.
“A team is on their way here now. I’m going to need you to retell that again, and probably a few more times after that. But before we get to it, I just have to ask…” Luke paused, no expression on his face, and he leaned forward with his forearms on his legs. “What. TheFuck. Iswrongwith you?” He dropped his head and sighed. I got it. I’d been sighing a lot too. Must be a family trait.
