It didn’t seem possible that the deaths and carnage could be explained away in a couple of hours. He
thought he’d left something out, but there’d been nothing. Of course, the cops kept him talking until his head swam. They hammered him for days, making him start from the beginning and dissecting the tiniest details.
The police released him after the first long day of interrogation.
He and Bob were flown home in the custody
of two police officers and were released on their own recognizance. Dexter Tyrell’s testimony and Bob’s tape recording had seen to that. The executive told the police everything. He explained how he’d hired a contract killer after selecting clients to kill. The name John Kelso was a surprise to Tyrell—Kelso had never told him his real name. Tyrell explained he had only dealt with a voice on a phone and a post office box.
Once the police had Dexter Tyrell, they were no
longer interested in Josh and Bob, although charges were still pending. But for revealing the murder-for profit scandal, it was their lawyer’s opinion the charges of intentionally wounding Tyrell would be dropped and the killing of John Kelso would be considered justifiable homicide. For all intents and purposes they
were free men; their part was over.
Josh’s release resulted in requests for interviews from all quarters. Josh declined them all, much to the media’s disappointment. He’d gone from villain to hero. Bell’s construction fraud claims were forgotten for the meantime in favor of his vigilante quest for the truth.
But Josh didn’t return to a hero’s welcome. He’d
won his life back at great expense. He had lost Kate and Abby. When he returned from Pinnacle Investments, he told Kate about everything—the affair, the
murders, he didn’t leave a single detail out. She had remained detached until he told her of the possibility that he was HIV positive. Kate cracked and burst into tears, telling him she never wanted to see him again. He’d discovered Bell had indeed been HIV positive, but he and Kate were clean. Kate didn’t care that the AIDS
scare was a false alarm. She decided they were finished.
He didn’t feel much like a hero. Thinking about it now, a tear rolled down his face.
The front door opened and Josh swiftly wiped away the tear with the back of his hand and focused his attention once more on the television.
Bob came into the living room. “Come on, Josh,
turn that crap off. You’re still in the same clothes you were wearing three days ago.”
Josh turned his head toward his frowning friend. He looked at his clothes—a T-shirt and sweatpants. Stains of some sort ran down the front of the shirt. He didn’t remember what it was or when it had happened.
“Why are you home so early?”
Ignoring Josh, Bob took the remote from his hand
and switched off the television. He sat down on the coffee table between Josh and the TV, the remote held between his clasped hands.
Josh pointed at the television. “I was watching that.”
“Yeah and you’ve been watching that crap for the
last week. Daytime will rot your brain. It’s about time you did something.”
“Like what?” Josh asked.
“Anything. Something. You can do whatever you
want now.”
“It’s easy for you to say. You haven’t lost anything.
Everything’s the same for you.”
Bob’s grip tightened around the remote and his face flushed. “Fuck you, you ungrateful shit. It’s been no picnic for me, you know. I stood by you. You are a guest in my home. It hasn’t been easy. Nancy isn’t your biggest fan after what you’ve done.”
Nancy’s icy reception had been quite clear once she knew of his affair. Josh made it his business to keep out of her way at all times. When she came home, he went to his room and he knew Bob was having his ear bent quite regularly about his stay.
“Do you want me to go?”
“No, Josh.” Bob stood and started to walk away in disgust. He threw the remote and it thudded into an armchair. “No, I don’t want you to go. I want you to get on with your life instead of pissing it away on watching TV and wallowing in self-pity.”
“I don’t have much else to look forward to.”
A crooked smile spread across Bob’s face, and enthusiasm glinted in his eyes. “I think I can change all
that. Come on, man. I’ve got someplace to take you.”
“Where are we going?”
“Stop asking questions and get moving. I’ll be waiting for you in the car.” He clapped his hands together like the king of Siam and disappeared out the front door.
Josh went into the hallway. He caught a glimpse of himself in the hall mirror. He looked at his untidy appearance—hair unkempt, face unshaven and his
clothes wrinkled. He hoped Bob wasn’t taking him
somewhere special. He could do without the hassle. He found his running shoes and slipped them on to his bare feet.
Walking out into the daylight, Josh squinted against the brightness of the morning sunshine and raised a hand to shield his eyes. It had been days since he’d left the house to visit the outside world. It wasn’t as he remembered it. The world was a lot more colorful than
he recalled, like he had removed tinted goggles after a long day of skiing. He joined Bob in the car.
“Where are we going?” Josh asked again.
“You’ll find out soon enough.”
Bob didn’t divulge their destination until they got there. He indicated a three-bedroom ranch style house on the south side of Land Park with a for sale sign outside. He brought the car to a halt, but Josh wanted m
334 Simon Wood
to jump out before the Toyota had stopped. Kate stood on the porch to the house, dressed in a loose-fitting summer print dress. Josh fired the car door open, but Bob grabbed his forearm.
“Get over there and win her back. Don’t screw this up,” he said with a smile pasted across his face. “I went to a lot of trouble to get her here.”
Bob released his grip on Josh’s arm. Josh leapt out of the car and rushed over to Kate. Fearing her rejection, he slowed as he got closer and stopped about five feet from her.
Bob’s Toyota drove away.
“Hello, Josh.” Kate’s reply didn’t exhibit any enthusiasm.
“Hello,
Kate.”
“I saw you on the TV last week.”
“Yeah, I can’t seem to get rid of them. They’re like flies around a cow’s butt.”
“Are you working?”
“No. Red Circle offered me my job back, but I said no. It’s not what I want anymore.”
Kate nodded.
They were silent for a long moment until Josh broke it. “Is this where you’re living?”
“No, I’m just looking.”
“Oh. How’s Abby?”
“She’s okay.”
“Is she here?”
“No, she’s with my mom.”
“So you’re still at your parents?”
“Yeah.”
“You look good.”
“I wish I could say the same about you. You look a mess.”
