WHAT would be a tactful reply to Alex’s outburst? I had no idea. “Do you still have the letter?”
The movement was only minimal, just a sudden tip-tap of his fingers, but enough for Parker and me to know he lied when he said, “No.”
“Are you sure?” Parker intervened. “It would be very helpful. Maybe there are fingerprints on it. Our forensic team is really good at finding prints.”
“I’m sure. I threw it away.” Alex informed us in a polite voice.
“Damn it, Alex!” I yelled.
Alex jumped and gasped. He obviously didn’t expect me to become loud. He wouldn’t have been so surprised if we really knew each other. As it was, we didn’t know more than each other’s names and how well we fit together in the physical sense. Under normal circumstances, that would be enough for me.
“All of us know you’re lying. Go and get the letter.”
Alex shook his head stubbornly. His control over his voice slipped. “I don’t have it anymore!”
I took a step toward him. Immediately, he stepped back. His complexion turned a chalky white. Inappropriately, I thought how much his pallor accentuated the darkness of his eyes. Parker stepped between Alex and me and glowered in my direction. “Cut it out, Jeff. The boy is scared.”
Alex didn’t deny this statement. However, he tilted his head sideways, obviously listening to something. Parker and I kept quiet. Seconds later we heard a strange, abrading noise. I positioned my hand on my gun and Parker did the same. Alex stared at us while we listened to this strange sound. Abruptly, he bolted toward the door and pulled it completely open. Neither Parker nor I had seen this coming. Parker, at least, was quick enough to grab Alex by the scruff of his neck and pull him back. A strangled cry escaped Alex’s mouth. “No! Let go of me! It’s just Sean. He’s crawling toward us.”
“What?”
Alex struggled against the hold Parker had on him. I positioned myself between Alex and the door, gun at the ready. Carefully, I peered around the corner. Alex squeaked in panic, kicked Parker, and rushed past me.
Parker cursed while I followed on Alex’s heels. That Alex could flee from two established detectives within the confines of a tiny room could only be described as humiliating.
Halfway down the hall he crouched on the floor next to Sean’s exhausted form. Discreetly, I holstered my gun. Alex threw me a grateful glance over his shoulders as he talked to his brother. At least I hoped to have seen gratitude. Parker limped over to us with a big scowl plastered on his face, muttering, “That was completely irresponsible behavior, boy.”
“Why? I knew it was Sean. It just took me a second to recognize the sound because you made me nervous,” Alex bit back.
His motto: the best defense is to attack. I gnawed on my inner cheek to prevent myself from smiling. Despite everything, I really liked him. Too bad he came with an appendix.
Sean twittered something, his face showing signs of distress. Alex replied, “You don’t have to worry, baby. The detective and I just didn’t agree on something, that’s why he yelled. He wouldn’t hurt me.”
Hurt him? Baffled, I looked from Alex and Sean to Parker, who merely shrugged and asked, “Could you take him back to the living room so we can finish this interrogation? I have plans for the evening.”
“I think we’re finished. I’ve nothing more to tell you,” Alex said tightly.
“You don’t tell us when we’re finished. We will go as soon as we get the letter from you,” I hissed.
Alex pulled Sean into his arms and laboriously got to his feet. How often did he have to carry Sean around every day? How did that affect his own health? Alex interrupted me in my musings by saying, “You really don’t like anyone else being in charge, huh?”
Parker flapped his hands in the air. “Too much information, boy, way too much information.”
“Sorry,” Alex replied.
The apology didn’t convince anyone as he smiled. My own lips curled upwards in response to one of those goddamn dazzling smiles. I repeated, “Get the letter.”
The smile vanished and he opened his mouth. A second later he clicked it shut and nodded. I beckoned Parker back into the kitchen where we would wait for Alex. Parker still limped slightly. “He got you good.”
“No shit, Sherlock. I’m tempted to cuff his ear,” Parker growled. “How did you know he’s lying?”
“I didn’t, it was just a gut feeling. Didn’t you feel the same?”
“Yeah, but I was ready to believe him.”
“Sucker.”
“Uh-huh, hello, kettle.”
I grimaced and crossed my arms above my chest. “I’m not.”
Parker rolled his eyes as he sat down on a chair. He was still rubbing his thigh when Alex entered the kitchen without Sean, whom he’d obviously settled in the living room in front of the TV again. Alex clutched a piece of paper tightly in his hand while he offered Parker, “I could give you an ice bag?”
“It’s not that bad.”
I deadpanned, “You sure look to be in dire need of a doctor or a nurse.”
Parker’s eyes danced in mischief when he said innocently, “Oh, you’re into role play? Kinky. Should have told me before I hooked up with that stud.”
Alex glanced from Parker to me, bewilderment clearly written all over his face. I nodded at the letter in his hand. “Unfold it and lay it on the table so we can have a look at it.”
Alex made no move to follow my instructions. Instead, he clutched the letter even tighter. His eyes were impossibly wide and full of emotions while his face remained impassive. I always thought the phrase “eyes are the doors to our souls” was utter bullshit. I revised my opinion. Alex exemplified the phrase; his eyes definitely fit the bill. Did he know how much his eyes gave away? There was so much hurt and fear in them, so much of it.
When it became obvious he didn’t intend to move any time soon, I closed the distance between us. This time he didn’t back off. He dropped his chin to his chest, though. With a gentleness that was foreign to me, I rested my hand on top of the hand clutching the letter and guided it to the table. Alex’s hand felt cold and unsteady. Standing behind him in such close proximity caused my body to react strongly. It was also rather inappropriate in the circumstances. I cleared my throat. “Let me guess. There’s a threat in this letter. You’re not supposed to go to the police, otherwise you’ll regret it?”
Alex threw the letter on the table before he stumbled a few steps backwards. “Yes.”
Taking a handkerchief from my pocket, I unfolded the letter and read it. Basically, it said what Alex had told us. What he hadn’t mentioned was the threat to Sean’s life should Alex decide to go to the police, or the letter’s get-out-of-town ultimatum. They were supposed to live somewhere else by the 12th of April if he wanted Sean to stay alive.
Parker’s eyebrows rose upwards. Slowly, he turned around to look at Alex who had tucked his hands under his armpits. We could still see how much his hands trembled.
“Did it ever occur to you this might be serious? A really serious threat to Sean’s life? And just because you’re afraid of youth services, you’re jeopardizing your brother’s life?”
I hadn’t thought it possible for Alex to grow paler, yet his pallor changed to a ghostly white. He swallowed convulsively a few times and I thought he’d win against the rising nausea. He proved me wrong by whirling around and emptying his stomach in the kitchen sink. Parker’s eyes showed compassion when he got up, though his voice sounded strictly professional. “We have to take this seriously, Jeff. It’s too much of a coincidence. I’ll take the letter to forensics. You’re gonna stay here overnight?”
Alex’s head whipped up. His eyes streamed as he stared from Parker to me. Hoarsely, he stated, “You don’t have to. We’re okay. I’ll lock the door and—”
“Parker is right. You shouldn’t be without protection.” I couldn’t prevent myself from saying, “You should have gone to the police weeks ago.”
“I got that much now, thank you.”
It probably should have sounded snarky, scathing. It didn’t. It sounded helpless, defeated, and very close to tears.
“Do you have any plastic bags here? For the letter?” Parker asked.
Alex pointed to a cupboard to his left while he fought against another wave of nausea. My feet carried me to his side of their own volition. I opened the tap at the sink and rinsed it. The odor was strong, causing my stomach to churn in sympathy. Alex looked positively green around the gills. With a sigh, I rested my hands on top of his tensed-up shoulders and began to knead the knots out. Alex’s first reaction was to become rigid. Soon his shoulders sagged and he relaxed, though he didn’t acknowledge my ministrations.
Parker finished wrapping the letter in plastic and bade his goodbye. “I’ll see who’s available to keep an eye on him tomorrow. See ya!”
“I don’t need a babysitter!”
That’s what they all say. Patiently, I patted Alex’s back and told him, “You should brush your teeth.”
Alex stepped aside in what should have been a brisk movement. He swayed, which screwed up his performance. “Thanks for the advice.”
“You’re welcome. I’ll sit with your brother till you’re finished.”
Alex’s voice stopped me at the threshold of the kitchen door. “Do you really believe this is serious?”
“Yes.”
“I didn’t think it’s serious. I mean, it’s scary and I’m, uh, way more jumpy than usual but… you can’t let such stuff get to you, right? Those people would win then. They win anyhow because they make you feel unsafe and suspicious.”
I noted the detached voice he used, how he changed from “I” to “you”, distancing himself from the threat. “That’s why we have to find out who wrote the letter, so whoever it is can’t harass you anymore.”
Alex laughed harshly. “I’ve seen enough TV to know that you probably won’t find out who wrote the letter. You could do us a favor and go home now. Neither of us feels comfortable with the other one around and Sean’s harasser won’t act before the twelfth.”
“This isn’t up for discussion. I’ll stay. Deal with it.”
“You can’t—”
I barked, “Alex, stop it! Think of your brother. You don’t know how this weirdo will act. He could very well ignore his own ultimatum.”
“I’m always thinking of Sean. Always.” His voice had a bitter edge to it.
So he wasn’t always a happy camper when it came to being a single parent to a disabled child. Nice to see he was only human too.
I caught him by his shoulders when he squeezed past me. We locked eyes. I should have said something meaningful, but I couldn’t think of anything. Alex held my gaze, waiting for me to speak up. When I stayed silent, he shrugged my hands off and mumbled, “I’d better brush my teeth.”
“You do that.”
I let him go and trailed after him. He made a quick detour to the living room, where he told Sean I was going to stay with them for the night. The boy answered him in his usual way of communication. I was astonished how Alex could interpret what he was saying. To me it sounded like… nothing I’d encountered before. During their little chitchat, Alex glanced at me. His voice became more and more hushed until he cut Sean off with a firm, “That’s enough.”
The boy’s eyes filled with tears immediately but to my surprise Alex didn’t waver. He quickly excused himself and I had no other choice than to sit down on the sofa. I chose the corner of the sofa furthest away from the almost crying Sean. He chirped, a sad type of chirp, then hefted his eyes back on the screen in front of him. I let out a breath and rolled my shoulders to ease some of the tension. Children always made me feel inadequate. Sean even more so because he was different in many ways. The prospect of having some kind of conversation upset me the most. Gratefulness filled me when he didn’t pursue talking to me.
When Alex came back, I interpreted Sean’s high-pitched shrieks as protest. I wondered what his protest was directed at. Questioningly, I raised an eyebrow at Alex, who sighed and wearily raked his fingers through his hair. “It’s Sean’s bedtime. As you can hear he’s not too fond of it.”
Sean’s shrieks rose in intensity, causing me to grit my teeth. “It’s unmistakable.”
Alex’s eyes blazed up in anger. I stared at him, baffled. What had I said this time? I seemed to have a knack for saying the wrong thing. Not a really new revelation, yet it irked me to upset Alex. Especially when I didn’t have a clue about what I had said exactly to rile him up. I foresaw a highly terse and uncomfortable evening and night.
Alex clicked off the TV, which earned him a furious-sounding cry. Sean certainly had a big repertoire of various sounds and noises to demonstrate his feelings. I watched Alex wrestle Sean into his arms and carry him out of the living room. He looked exhausted and sounded grim when he admonished his little brother. “Knock it off, Sean. It’s late, we have to get you into your jammies and do some of your exercises. You know that. It’s the same routine every night.”
Sean’s answering chirp was more subdued. “Come on, baby. We both had a long and exhausting day, we’re both tired. Don’t make a fuss, please.”
The bathroom door clicked shut. I listened to them talking and chirping, sometimes interrupted by sounds of water running. They emerged from the bathroom about fifteen minutes later. Sean saw me standing at the living-room window and whistled. Alex turned to me with an unreadable expression on his face. “He wishes you a good night.”
“Oh, um, thanks. Same to you.”
I followed them into the small hallway because I needed to use the facilities. Sean’s head rested on Alex’s shoulders and he smiled at me before they vanished into his room. I shook my head. What a strange family. Did this even count as a family? There were only two of them. A small voice inside my head sweetly asked me if it wouldn’t be nice to belong to this family.
I almost banged into the bathroom door.