And Then She Was Gone(94)
Jack forced himself to look Clark in the eye.
“Then let me tell you. Up until twenty-four hours ago, we had an airtight case against the guy who killed Stacy Shaw—Jay Martin. But Jay and his family played you. They know you want to be a cop. They got you to pretend that you are one. They got you to run around and taint witnesses. Jay came up with the bullcrap story ‘It wasn’t me, it was my brother dressed in my clothes,’ and you bought it. I warned you. You should’ve listened to your head and looked at the facts. The facts say Jay Martin killed Stacy Shaw. I believe them. You should too. You got played, kid.”
Jack’s head spun.
“You’re a good guy, Jack. You meant well. But this isn’t your job; it’s mine. You’ve got a lot to learn.”
Jack nodded. His chest felt as if a boa constrictor was crushing it. “Yes, sir.” He hung his head.
Clark moved closer. “Listen, I won’t let this screw up the Army. I’ll run interference with Detective Vargas. But I need you to stay the hell out of this now. Putting your old man on you is the only way I know to keep you away.”
Jack stared at his feet. He’d gotten it wrong. He didn’t just feel foolish—he felt worthless.
On top of that, now he had to deal with his father.
28
Trouble
Jack watched his dad pace back and forth across the kitchen floor. For the past ten minutes that was all he had done—pace. Detective Clark had told his father everything outside the police station. Jack had repeated it in the car. Now all Jack could do was wait.
His mother sat at the other end of the kitchen table. Once again the Stratton family kitchen resembled a courtroom more than a dining area. It was a too-familiar situation for them all, because of their wild, quick-to-anger, high-maintenance, impetuous, rebellious son, Jack. Jack’s father was like a judge, ready to lower the boom, and his mother acted as the defense attorney begging for mercy for her client, who sat silently on the witness stand.
Ted took off his glasses. As he cleaned the lenses, he stared at the floor. When he finally looked up, in his eyes Jack saw what he dreaded—disappointment.
“Jack, I’m unhappy with your decisions on many levels. The worst part is that you put Chandler’s future in jeopardy.”
“What? I never said Chandler was there.”
Ted leveled his gaze at Jack. “You didn’t have to. Thick as thieves. If you’re around, I just need to look for his shadow.” He sighed. “Chandler needs that tuition reimbursement program. I can’t believe you’d risk that for him.”
“But Dad—”
“You should have come to me. You’re still under this roof, even if you just turned eighteen.”
Jack tried to stifle his groan.
“Your mother got a cake. She made a special dinner that’s now sitting in the refrigerator—”
“I didn’t want anything. I hate this cursed, rotten, worthless day.”
“We don’t usually see things from polar opposite positions, but to me and your mom, this is a very blessed day.”
“You sound like Aunt Haddie. I just don’t see it that way. I think about today and I just see her walking away from me. She wouldn’t even turn around.”
“Is that why you acted this way? Why you’ve been so desperately struggling to prove your worth by solving this crime?”
Jack shrugged.
“Maybe you need to stop looking at yourself that way. You’re looking back. You’re watching her, and your past. If you turn around, you’ll see all the people who are waiting for you—Aunt Haddie, Chandler, Michelle, your mom. Looking forward might be a little less painful.”
Jack kept looking down. He knew his father was right. The truth was, ever since that day, his life had taken a different trajectory—up.
“What concerns me is your decisions,” his father continued. “You had many other options. You could have come to me, your mother, Detective Clark—”
“I went to Clark and he finked me out.”
“He didn’t. He had an obligation to tell his superiors and to call me. He should have, and he did. That was the right thing to do. He didn’t want to, but he did it.”
“That’s my argument, Dad. I didn’t want to help Jay. I don’t like him. But it was the right thing to do. So I did it.”
“But you had other options. You went at it all wrong.”
“What other options? I went to Clark, but the cops weren’t doing… I didn’t think the police were doing anything.”
“But they were.”
The words had a finality to them. They hung in the air and shot down any argument Jack could think of.