Male voices rose from the hospital hallway. Wendell, talking to someone.
The pizza had arrived.
I pushed from the chair and headed for the door to take the box from Wendell. Just seeing his face brought back all my rage against Cat. At least Wendell didn’t know about the picture yet. He brought in the soft drinks and plates. The pizza smelled great, but I barely noticed. My thoughts bounced all over the place.
I’d never dreamed Mom had lived through such a nightmare. Had my father done some ‘favor’ for that gang—and ended up running from the cops?
What if it wasn’t his fault at all? Maybe he really was a good man. And Jerry had lied. I so wanted to believe that.
“We got extra for you, Wendell.” I set the box on my bed. “And here’s a Coke.”
“Great. Thanks.”
I took out two pieces each for me and Mom, and left the rest for Wendell, which was a lot. With all those muscles burning fuel, he’d have no problem eating it. He returned to the hallway, carrying the pizza box and his Coke. I took Mom her plate.
The first bite of pizza burst in my mouth with flavor. Hot, salty, spicy.
Mom and I ate in silence.
As I finished my second piece my cell phone rang. I tensed. Leaning over my bed, I focused on the ID. Detective Myner. My breath hitched. Had he found my father?
I wiped off my greasy hand and picked up the phone. “Hello.”
“Hi, Shaley, Detective Myner here.” Muted voices rumbled in the background. Sounded like he was in a noisy office. “Hope you don’t mind me using your cell number. The hospital’s not letting any calls through to your Mom’s room.” He chuckled. “Probably half the callers are claiming to be police officers.”
“Yeah. That’s okay.”
“I promised to call as soon as I learned anything about your father.”
I sat down on my bed, stiff-backed. To Mom I whispered, “They’ve found something.”
Please, God, let me hear Jerry lied!
“Okay.” My voice sounded small.
“We don’t know everything yet,” the detective said. “But we have traced where he went when he left California. And, more important, we know who he became.”