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Authors: Loren D. Estleman
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to Oral’s big bald head and sloping shoulders; Rose pregnant; Rose holding Jeffie; Jeffie; an underexposed Polaroid of a grave-faced boy of about six, taken in someone’s backyard; a five-by-seven version of the wallet-size Oral had given me of Rose and Jeff Starzek. No shots of them together as children, or of Rose as a young girl. A spare, sad album—if Rose hadn’t lied to me the way she had to her husband.
I smelled her at my side. The scent or soap she used was slightly almond. It might have been baby oil.
“That’s Oral’s mother and father at their golden.” she said. “He died last year. They wouldn’t let me hold Jeffie or his brothers in the hospital. We took these pictures the day we brought him home. That’s Jeff. He was a skinny little kid. He filled out later. I guess you can tell we weren’t a big picture-taking family.”
“There’s one missing.”
“I had one of my father, but I haven’t seen it since we moved in. I tore up all the pictures of my mother the day I turned sixteen.”
“I meant there’s no picture of Jeff’s brother.”
She hesitated. “He doesn’t have a brother. I’m his only family.”
“Paul Starzek runs a do-it-yourself church up in Port Huron. He’s twenty years older than Jeff.”
She went back to her chair and curled up in it. hugging herself as if she were chilled. The electric fire kept the room an even seventy. “You waited long enough to toss that in my lap. Any other surprises?”
“What surprised you, that he has a brother or that I knew about him?”
“What do you think?”
“You didn’t hire me to think. Pound for pound it’s a bad deal.”
“I didn’t know. I don’t care whether you believe me. I don’t know what the advantage would be if I did and pretended I didn’t. As a matter of fact, I don’t know now. It’s possible. Jeff’s parents were in their forties when their plane went down. I never heard my mother and father say anything about their having a grown son; but then they hardly talked to each other. Who told you?”
I hung on to that surprise, to find out if it was one. “Paul wouldn’t give me the time of day over the telephone, so I paid him a visit. He wasn’t home. His church doesn’t seem to be doing too well. What do you know about St. Sebastian?”
“Nothing. I wasn’t raised Catholic.”
“Episcopalian here. I’ll have to look him up. He seems to be the patron saint of Paul’s faith. Anyway the church is shut up for the winter, and maybe for good. It looks like he’s using it for storage.”
“Jeff’s never mentioned him. Maybe he doesn’t know he even has a brother.”
“He knows. Someone told me they broke off communication right around the time you say Jeff went wild. Paul confirmed it over the telephone. Maybe he tried to tap his big brother for a getaway stake.”
“I’d have lent him whatever he needed. I’ve offered many times. He always turns me down.”
“Maybe he thinks you don’t owe him anything and Paul does.”
“He hasn’t needed money in some time. He tried to give us some when I was in the hospital, but Oral wouldn’t take it.”
“It’s not money. He’s driving thirty thousand dollars’ worth of Detroit muscle. Whatever he’s after, he talked to Paul about it recently.Paul damned him for a smuggler, but he didn’t get into smuggling until he was in his twenties. How else would Paul know?”
“You said you weren’t paid to think.”
“It’s an expensive hobby.”
“Since you aren’t charging for it, do you think Paul knows where Jeff’s gone?”
“Someone else thinks so, or did. One of them is Oral.”
I watched her closely, but she’d been too long in the cold war. I needed a court order just to take her pulse.
“Oral doesn’t know about Paul,” she said. “
I
didn’t know, and I know my husband.”
“That’s a common mistake. He was up there New Year’s Eve, asking about Paul.”
“He was with me New Year’s Eve.”
“It was
I smelled her at my side. The scent or soap she used was slightly almond. It might have been baby oil.
“That’s Oral’s mother and father at their golden.” she said. “He died last year. They wouldn’t let me hold Jeffie or his brothers in the hospital. We took these pictures the day we brought him home. That’s Jeff. He was a skinny little kid. He filled out later. I guess you can tell we weren’t a big picture-taking family.”
“There’s one missing.”
“I had one of my father, but I haven’t seen it since we moved in. I tore up all the pictures of my mother the day I turned sixteen.”
“I meant there’s no picture of Jeff’s brother.”
She hesitated. “He doesn’t have a brother. I’m his only family.”
“Paul Starzek runs a do-it-yourself church up in Port Huron. He’s twenty years older than Jeff.”
She went back to her chair and curled up in it. hugging herself as if she were chilled. The electric fire kept the room an even seventy. “You waited long enough to toss that in my lap. Any other surprises?”
“What surprised you, that he has a brother or that I knew about him?”
“What do you think?”
“You didn’t hire me to think. Pound for pound it’s a bad deal.”
“I didn’t know. I don’t care whether you believe me. I don’t know what the advantage would be if I did and pretended I didn’t. As a matter of fact, I don’t know now. It’s possible. Jeff’s parents were in their forties when their plane went down. I never heard my mother and father say anything about their having a grown son; but then they hardly talked to each other. Who told you?”
I hung on to that surprise, to find out if it was one. “Paul wouldn’t give me the time of day over the telephone, so I paid him a visit. He wasn’t home. His church doesn’t seem to be doing too well. What do you know about St. Sebastian?”
“Nothing. I wasn’t raised Catholic.”
“Episcopalian here. I’ll have to look him up. He seems to be the patron saint of Paul’s faith. Anyway the church is shut up for the winter, and maybe for good. It looks like he’s using it for storage.”
“Jeff’s never mentioned him. Maybe he doesn’t know he even has a brother.”
“He knows. Someone told me they broke off communication right around the time you say Jeff went wild. Paul confirmed it over the telephone. Maybe he tried to tap his big brother for a getaway stake.”
“I’d have lent him whatever he needed. I’ve offered many times. He always turns me down.”
“Maybe he thinks you don’t owe him anything and Paul does.”
“He hasn’t needed money in some time. He tried to give us some when I was in the hospital, but Oral wouldn’t take it.”
“It’s not money. He’s driving thirty thousand dollars’ worth of Detroit muscle. Whatever he’s after, he talked to Paul about it recently.Paul damned him for a smuggler, but he didn’t get into smuggling until he was in his twenties. How else would Paul know?”
“You said you weren’t paid to think.”
“It’s an expensive hobby.”
“Since you aren’t charging for it, do you think Paul knows where Jeff’s gone?”
“Someone else thinks so, or did. One of them is Oral.”
I watched her closely, but she’d been too long in the cold war. I needed a court order just to take her pulse.
“Oral doesn’t know about Paul,” she said. “
I
didn’t know, and I know my husband.”
“That’s a common mistake. He was up there New Year’s Eve, asking about Paul.”
“He was with me New Year’s Eve.”
“It was
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