The Border Part Five Read Free

his face. “He’s not joking when he makes those snide little comments, he really, honestly thinks it’s true. Him and Dad, they’re the same. They’ve got me pegged as some kind of monster.” He waited for a reply. “But you don’t think that, do you?”
    “No,” she replied, clearly exasperated, “of course I don’t, not for one second. Ben, I’m so sorry, I don’t know what Jack was thinking…”
    “Yeah, you do,” he continued, heading to the wall and leaning back as he pulled a pack of cigarettes from his pocket. His fingers were trembling slightly as he lit up and took a drag. “He’s had his finger on the trigger for years,” he continued. “I should’ve known he’d pull it one day. I guess that’s what I get for winding him up. I probably should accept some of the blame myself.”
    “I am so, so sorry,” she replied, stepping over to him. “He didn’t talk to me about it, he didn’t give me any indication that he was going to do something like this.” She paused, before putting her arms around him and giving him a hug.
    “It’s okay.”
    “So at least you set Alex straight, right? You showed him that you didn’t kill Mel Armitage or Hayley Maitland?”
    “And how would I show him that?” Ben asked, taking another deep, calming drag on the cigarette as his sister stepped back from the hug.
    “By telling him where you were when they were murdered.”
    He paused. “It’s complicated.”
    “Complicated? It’s not complicated, Ben, it’s how you prove you couldn’t have killed them.”
    “Alex doesn’t know exactly when they were killed,” he continued. “There’s, like, a window of several hours for each of them. It’s kind of hard to be helpful and prove where you were for several hours at a time, even if you felt that way inclined. Which I can’t say I do.”
    “You can’t…” She paused, before sighing. “You did answer his questions properly, didn’t you? Please, Ben, tell me you didn’t spend the whole night being sarcastic and elusive?”
    He shrugged.
    “You didn’t,” she continued, “you can’t have done. You’re not that goddamn stupid.”
    “Can’t fight who I am.”
    “He’s a cop!” she hissed. “I get it, you like acting that way with Jack, you like winding him up, but you can’t do the same thing when the police haul you in for questioning. That’s the time to be straightforward and honest, it’s the time to get real!”
    He smiled. “Get real. Yeah, I should do that some time.”
    “You’re not helping yourself, Ben. It’s one thing for Jack to think you did something, Jack’s just one man, but if Alex thinks the same thing, you could be in serious trouble!” She sighed. “Come on, let’s get you home. You must be exhausted.”
    “Nah, I’m gonna stick around here for a little while.”
    “Ben -”
    “Go on, you get on with whatever you’ve got to do today. I appreciate you rushing down, truly I do, but there’s something I need to deal with and it’s kinda urgent, so I’m gonna trundle around for a bit before I come home.”
    She stared at him, clearly at a loss for words.
    “You’re making this harder for yourself,” she told him finally, taking a step back. “Whatever you’re trying to prove, it’s not worth it. You’re as guilty as Jack when it comes to letting this garbage keep on ruining your life. You have the power to drop it and let it fade away.”
    “I know,” he muttered, taking another drag on his cigarette as he watched Beth heading back to her car. Once she was gone, he slid down until he was crouching with his back against the wall, and he continued to enjoy the cigarette. He watched as the town square began to wake up, as storefronts opened and people emerged to run their daily errands. There was something strangely peaceful and calming about the sight, and he couldn’t help feeling a little envious of all those men, women and children who went about their lives with no idea of the darkness