ALL THINGS PRETTY PART TWO Read Free

either cold or sick.   She shakes her head.   “Most
nights I’m out with Lance. At least for a little while. On the nights when I stay home, Travis comes over here.”   She closes her eyes, like she’s
disappointed in herself.   “Now I
know why. Now I know why he never wants to stay home when I’m there.   He has to make sure the drugs get here.
Is that it, Trip?” she asks, pinning him with her pain-dulled green eyes.
    He nods, his foggy brown eyes darting between us
suspiciously.  
    “But why switch backpacks? Why not use the same one?”
    “How’d you know?” he asks. When I don’t answer, Trip
shrugs.   “Students drop off for
Chaps first thing in the morning, in his room. He has packs that look just like
theirs, gives ‘ em the clean ones to carry all
day.   Sticks the ones with drugs in
‘ em in the closet until the last period of the day.   Ain’t no teacher or principle or anybody really gonna think
nothing about seeing a couple-a backpacks sitting in a teacher’s room.   It’s a school, man!   Plus, when the cops come to search, they
don’t put the drugs dogs in the classrooms.   Just on the lockers.   I’m sure if Chaps got caught, though,
he’d blame it on the kids who left the bags with him.   He only comes in first thing with the
drugs.   Spreads it out and keeps
that shit hid in back packs all day.   Perfect alibi if he ever got caught.”
    I think it sounds like the dumbest operation in the world,
but it’s obviously so simple it works.   Lance Tonin has been getting his pollution out and evading capture for
years.   And this is how.
    “Why does Chaps–or Tonin for that matter–think
Travis has done something to betray him?”
    “Hell if I know, dude .   I just wanna get high and stay outta prison.   Keep my head down.”
    Looking at his lackluster eyes, brimming with fear, I
believe him.   Besides, I can’t
imagine why anybody would trust this little asshat with anything more important than the basics.   This is probably all he knows.
    “Tell anybody we were here and I’ll come back for you. And
if you run, I’ll find you.   Either
way, you won’t like what happens when I get my hands on you.   Comprende ?”
    He nods, still stiff and holding himself away from me.
    I turn, taking Tommi’s hand, and we walk back out to the
truck.   I start the engine and sit
in the quiet for a few seconds, thinking.   Finally, I take out my phone.   I risk typing a text that includes the information that I just learned and
sending it on to my handler at the station.   All this shit’s getting ready to blow up
and they need to know. They need to get their asses out there and be prepared to intervene.   Even if it means Tommi finds out who I am, I have to do it.
    Tommi doesn’t ask me who I texted, though.   Her mind is elsewhere.   I shift into gear and pull out, heading
down the street then across town toward Colonial, toward where Chaps has a
place and where we might find Travis.  
    After a couple of minutes to settle down, I reach for Tommi’s
hand, giving her comfort as I press her for more.
    “Where’s your other brother now?   Maybe he could tell us something. Help
us out.   Is he still involved with
Tonin?”   I’m thinking he may be in prison.   Finally got busted or something.   But I can work with that.   I am a cop after all.  
    “No, he can’t help us.”
    “Can’t or won’t?”
    She leans her head back and closes her eyes.   “Can’t.”   She exhales and adds softly,   “He’s dead.”
    Oh shit.
    “God, Tommi, I’m so sorry. I…I…”
    “It’s okay. You didn’t know. It happened a long time ago.”
    “What happened? How’d he die?” I ask gently.
    She turns eyes to me that are both wary and tired.   She doesn’t answer me, which is an
answer in and of itself . And that pisses me off.
    “After everything, everything that’s happened and all that
we’ve shared, you still don’t trust me.”
    “Sig, I...”
    “