Never Go Home by L.T. Ryan Page B

out.”
    “And look at it
closely. See how that white is smudged? Kind of darker than the others?”
    “Kind of red?”
    We stood with
our arms pressed tight to one another. She looked over at me. I felt her breath
on my face.
    “Is that
blood?” she said.
    “You got
something to test with?” I said.
    She shrugged.
“We’re a small department, Jack. We don’t have anything fancy.”
    I placed my
hand on my face and rubbed down to my chin. Someone had to be able to help. It
was an hour’s drive to Tampa. One of her deputies could get there in thirty to
forty.
    “Grab a camera
and an evidence bag,” I said. “We can have one of your guys run it to the
city.”
    “OK.”
    “You’ve got
some contacts down there, right?”
    She nodded as
she pulled out her cell phone and called back one of the deputies. She walked
away from me and filled him in on the details.
    I continued to
stare at the message. I had a good idea who had left it, and why. What I didn’t
understand was why they didn’t just track me down and deal with me? Why’d they
have to bring Sean and his family into this? These guys knew me twenty years
ago. They had no idea who they were messing with now. I could make their lives
a living hell.
    And I would.
    I needed a car,
and I had to get rid of April so that I could put an end to this.
    I made my way
to the living room. April stood in the foyer. The front door opened. She greeted
her deputy, and together they walked into the kitchen. I followed behind. I
didn’t know this man. He took several pictures of the refrigerator, donned a
pair of blue latex gloves, and placed the poetry magnets into an evidence bag.
    April said,
“Have them test it for blood first, DNA second.”
    The guy nodded,
and said, “Yes Ma’am,” and left.
    April followed
him to the front door. I waited in the living room. After her deputy left she
joined me.
    “I guess we
wait,” she said.
    “You should go
home,” I said.
    “I can’t leave
you here.”
    “Why not?”
    She waved her
hand around. “What if they come back?”
    “I’m a big boy.
I can handle it. Go home, April.”
    She took a few
steps back. Whether she did it purposefully or unconsciously, she blocked my
path to the front door.
    “Why are you
acting like this, Jack?”
    “Like what?”
    “Like you’re
going to do something.”
    “Probably best
you don’t ask a question like that.”
    She hesitated
before answering. I could see her struggling with the choice. Leave or try to
detain me. She threw a curve ball at me.
    “I’m going with
you,” she said.
    “Where?”
    “You know
where. Those two jerks from the bar.”
    I hadn’t
considered this option. It made sense. She could keep me from doing something
stupid, or she could cover up anything stupid that I did.
    “You know where
they live?” I said.
    She lifted her
eyebrows an inch, nodded. “Been there several times.”
    I followed her
outside. The sun had set. It was dark and muggy. Crickets and cicadas competed
for our attention. A water bug the width of a golf ball skated across the
driveway. Halfway to her patrol car, I began to sweat. I started to long for
London.
    She started the
engine and blasted the AC before she closed her door. I stole a glance in her
direction. She took a few deep breaths. Her hands white knuckled the steering
wheel. She whispered something. I had no idea what she said.
    “You sure you
want to do this?” I said.
    “Yes,” she
said.
    “You can just
drop me off and give me directions. No one will know. I sure won’t tell.”
    “I’m not
leaving you there alone. You nearly killed them in the bar and that took a
couple seconds. I’d probably roll up to their house in the middle of the night
and find their heads on stakes.”
    Ironic,
considering where I’d been only a few days ago.
    “Besides, these
guys are armed to the teeth. They won’t do anything if I’m there.”
    She backed out
of the driveway, threw the transmission into drive and gunned the