the house the whole time.â I noticed that Mrs. Thomforde was looking upward and to her left when she spoke. âHe helped me do some chores around the house, helped me move furniture and clean. He played the drums. Heâs such a fine musician.â
âHe was seen in a bar, Mrs. Thomforde. Thatâs a terrible violation of the terms of his parole.â
âI donât know where youâre getting your information, but you better go back and get some more. Anyone saying Scottie wasnât at my house is lying. Scottie wasnât anywhere else but at my house for the entire weekend. We had a family reunion. The entire family came over and we had dinner together. Scottie played the drums for us.â
âMrs. Thomfordeââ
âAre you saying sheâs a liar?â one of the East Siders asked. âWe donât lie.â
I liked the collective âWe,â but didnât say so.
âWhatâs important is where Scottie is now,â Karen said. âDo you know, Mrs. Thomforde?â
âNo, I donât. Youâre the one whoâs supposed to be watching him.â
Karen was this close to losing it. She clenched her fists and stepped forward. Something was about to come out of her mouth, and my inner voice warned, It ainât gonna be pretty.
âMiss.â I spoke loudly and gestured. Both women turned toward me, as I had hoped they would. I purposely looked past them. âMiss,â I called again. A waitress pivoted and stepped between Karen and Mrs. Thomforde to reach my chair. âHow many tickets do you have left?â
She did a quick count of the remaining tents on her tray and said, âTen.â
âIâll buy them all.â I dipped into my pocket for cash. âLadies, pick a ticket, my treat.â I dropped a ten on the tray and leaned back while each woman made a selection. Ruth said that I certainly knew the way to a girlâs heart. Her friends suggested that Ruth was a cheap date.
âTake a ticket,â I told Mrs. Thomforde. âYou, too, Karen. Pork chops, yum.â
Mrs. Thomforde selected hers, and Karen followed, leaving one ticket on the tray for me. I pulled a four. Victoriaâs number. Suddenly I wasnât having any fun. Suddenly I was angry again. I kept it to myself.
The waitress thanked us, scooped up the cash, and made her way to the front of the bar where the manager stood next to a spinning wheel. They both scanned the crowd for the other waitress, catching her eye. The waitress held up four fingers.
âFour tickets left for a chance at winning five pounds of pork-chops-on-a-stick,â the manager announced.
âYou and Scottie talk a lot, donât you, Mrs. Thomforde?â I said.
âOf course we do,â she said. âIâm his mother. He calls me all the time. Heâs a good boy.â
âDid he ever mention any friends to you? People he spends time with?â
âYou mean from prison?â She was looking at Karen when she said, âHe doesnât spend time with that trash.â
âDid he ever mention anyone called T-Man, for instance? Mr. T?â
Mrs. Thomforde looked up and to her right. âI donât think so,â she said. âNo. No, Iâm sure he hasnât. Why are you doing this, McKenzie?â She flung a look at Karen. âWhy are you helping her?â
I patted Mrs. Thomfordeâs hand. âIâm not,â I said. âIâm trying to help Scottie. When I found out Karen was looking for himâI was looking for him because I was hoping he might know some people who can help me out with something, but then she told meââI flicked a thumb in Karenâs directionââthat Scottie was missingâ¦â
âYes, yes,â Mrs. Thomforde said. âYou were always a good friend to Scottie. I remember what you did that one time. I wonât ever forget it.â She sighed dramatically.
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