Alone (A Bone Secrets Novel) (26 page)

“I… I don’t know. I don’t know who else could have found them. No one else comes in our house, so it must have been him.” His son looked ready to cry. “I’m sorry, Father.”

The old man hated him. How had he fathered such a weakling? “The boy has the bones. There’s no question in my mind. We need to get them back and—” He broke off, a new idea pushing its way into his brain.

What if they told the police the boy had the bones? Let him take the blame for the break-in.

He sucked in a deep breath. Was it plausible? Would that work? Let the police hunt down the boy. Who would the police believe, a rebellious teenager or two adults? His mind spun with the possibilities. Would the skulls lead back to him? Or could they present it as a stupid teen prank?

His son studied him quizzically, but he stayed silent.

“Wait a minute,” the father mumbled. “I think I have an idea.”

The man nodded eagerly, his gaze hopeful.

The father looked out the window, mentally exploring every avenue this thought had opened.
Jason had already been questioned by the police in the shooting yesterday. This would shine more light on what he’s done. But where would it lead?

Who knows what kinds of stories Jason would tell? Would anyone take them seriously? It didn’t matter. The risk was too high. All it took was one curious cop to take a closer look at the boy’s family.

“Damn it!”

His son’s eyes grew round, knowing his father never swore and didn’t allow swearing in his presence, a subject the grandfather and Jason had butted heads on before. There were other words for expressing anger. Foul language was a lazy man’s tool.

“I’d thought it might work,” he muttered. It would have solved two problems. The police could have located Jason and the bones for him. But the risk was unacceptable.

Who could he ask to bring Jason in? His son was worthless. There was no one he trusted. Not anymore.

He’d have to make the boy want to come to him.

Leo stepped out onto the front porch of his father’s house and blew out a breath. Steam hung in the cold air, making him crave a cigarette. The tall firs surrounding the home held his gaze.
Should he tell his father the truth?

Pride rushed through him. Part of him loved fooling his father, but part of him craved his father’s acknowledgment of his brilliance. His father truly believed he was a spineless weakling.
Someday he’d know the truth. Someday his father would be stunned at his son’s strength.

But when?

He’d learned not to show his strength from watching his older brother. His brother had been the strong one. One who stood up to their father. And he’d paid for it with his life. Back then Leo had sworn to let his father believe he was cowardly and pathetic.

Leo enjoyed the game. He wasn’t ready to surrender yet. He had the upper hand, and his father simply didn’t know, blinded by his anger over Jason.

Where was Jason?

His son had thrown a kink in his plans. Seeing the skulls missing had angered him. Why had Jason taken them? Had he simply wanted to show them off to his friends? Brag about the disgusting find in his father’s room?

Or did Jason suspect?

What was the boy up to?

Trinity stopped the car in front of a tiny house on the west side of Hillsboro and squinted through the rain at the house number. This was the place. What a dump. No wonder he didn’t want to stay here any longer. A piece of plywood over one window and the yard looked severely unloved. It needed serious time with a weed whacker and a lawn mower.

Should she go to the door? Honk?
She glanced at her watch. She was only ten minutes late. He should still be here and hopefully watching for her. She saw a curtain move at one of the front windows. Someone had spotted her. Good. She didn’t want to dash through the sheets of water or leap over the giant puddle that blocked the walkway to the front door.

The door opened and Jason stepped out. He slung a backpack over his shoulder and pulled up the hood on his jacket. He moved down the walk and easily avoided the mini-lake with his long legs. He opened the back door to the car, thrust his wet pack into the backseat, and slammed the door. The passenger door opened and he slid into the seat, pushing back his hood and filling Katy’s little car with his size. Trinity swallowed hard.
Should she be helping him?
He suddenly seemed very large, and she became aware of how powerless she was if he turned out to not be a nice guy.

Don’t pick up strangers.

He’s not a stranger, she argued. He was Brooke’s friend. Trinity had hung out with him and a few friends that time at the mall. He seemed normal. Nothing set off alarms in her head except for his need to avoid his parents. How much trouble was he in?

“Hi. Thanks for coming to get me.” He shoved his hair off his forehead and gave her a grim smile, his brown eyes serious. Cigarette smoke clung to him and permeated the air in the car.

Trinity studied his face. He looked stressed. Something big was up. “No problem. You sounded really concerned.”

“Yeah, my dad is furious with me for going to that service yesterday.” He looked out the window, avoiding her eyes.

Trinity had a hunch he hadn’t told her the full truth. The service may have been part of it, but that wasn’t the complete story. “I don’t get it. Why would he care if you went to the service of a friend? That doesn’t seem right.”

Jason looked at her, obviously struggling with how much to share. He ran his hand over his hair again, and she noticed his fingernails looked identical to hers: chewed to the quick.
Let it go. For now.

“Never mind. Parents don’t make sense sometimes.” She started the car. “Where are we going?”

Relief filled Jason’s face. “Thanks. Can we go get some lunch? There was like no food in there at all.”

Trinity wasn’t hungry. Dr. Peres’s scones sat in her stomach. She glanced at Jason as she pulled away from the curb. His jacket was soaked from his short dash through the rain, and he smelled like he’d recently showered. The car smelled of soap underneath the tobacco scent. Still, something about him being in the car with her felt good. He was plainly stressed, and she wanted to help. She remembered what Dr. Peres had said about taking his problems to a responsible adult. She’d help him find the right person as soon as he shared his real problem.

“Hey,” she said. “I got a text from Brooke’s mom this morning. She said Brooke opened her eyes and even squeezed her hand on command a few times. I guess the doctors are really excited about that.”

Jason leaned his head back on the seat and closed his eyes. “Thank God. You don’t know how worried I was about her.”

A mild spike of jealousy poked Trinity in the chest, and she felt guilty. How could she be jealous of someone who’d almost died? “I think it’s a good sign. Hopefully she’ll keep getting better and better.”

Jason opened his eyes and straightened. “Yes, at least one of them might make it.” He started to chew on a nail.

“You seemed really concerned. I didn’t think you and Brooke knew each other all that well,” Trinity pried, keeping her eyes on the road. As far as she knew, Brooke and Jason had only casually met a few times.

“Yeah, I guess I didn’t know her that well. But she seemed like a really nice girl.”

Trinity frowned. That told her nothing of their relationship.

“You knew Glory, too, right?”

“Yeah, she went to my school. She was in one of my classes.”

“It’s weird how all the girls who died went to different schools.”

Jason looked out his side window, now biting the cuticle of his finger. “Yeah. Weird.”

“Brooke told me you put her in touch with the photographer who took those gorgeous pictures of her.”

He whipped his head around to her, alarm on his face. “She told you that? Did you tell anyone else?” His words rushed out, his face pale.

Panic shot through Trinity.
I pushed the wrong button.
“I don’t know. I don’t think I told anyone else. I didn’t know it was a secret.”

“It’s not a secret,” Jason said stiffly.

He’s lying.
She tried to remember exactly what she’d told the police detectives. She’d told them Brooke had gone to Forest Park for a photography session. Had she told them how Brooke had been contacted by the photographer?

“I think I told the police she met the photographer through Facebook or Instagram. Is that how you originally met Brooke?”

Jason nodded. “We had some mutual friends on Facebook. I think she’d commented on someone’s portrait and we started chatting.”

“You’re the photographer?”

“God, no!”

Trinity cringed at the horror in his voice. “Then you know who took the pictures?”

Jason was silent for ten seconds. “I don’t know what happened.”

That didn’t answer my question.
She focused on the other traffic, but watched Jason out of the corner of her eye. He hadn’t stopped biting his nails. She didn’t know how he had anything left to bite. “Fast food okay?”

“God, yes.” He sounded starved.

Twenty minutes later, with a huge bacon cheeseburger and most of a large-sized fry order in his stomach, Jason leaned back in his chair as he pushed aside his tray. “Do you know where I could stay for a few days?”

Trinity’s heart sank. “I don’t. We have a houseguest because my neighbor’s house caught fire last night.”

“What?” Concern filled his eyes. “What fire?”

Trinity relayed the events of the night before.

“Shit. That really sucks. And they think it was done on purpose?”

“Well, something didn’t accidentally fly through her window to start a fire.”

Jason sucked on his straw, looking thoughtful. “Did they say what was used to start it?”

“No. An accelerant. They didn’t know exactly what it was, but the firefighters said they could smell it last night. So it was probably something like gasoline, I’d guess.”

“Why would someone do that?”

“Beats me.” Trinity shivered. Her words sounded strong, but the thought of a fire starting while Victoria had been asleep made her stomach burn.

“It’s bad enough Kyle was stupid enough to pull out a gun at that service. Someone could have been killed. That’s two bad accidents that you were pretty close to in one day.” Jason’s eyes were full of concern, but Trinity could tell his mind was ticking. He was thinking hard about something.

“Why did he bring a gun? Was he a friend of yours?”

“Sorta. We’ve known each other forever. More like a distant relative than a friend.” Jason frowned like he didn’t know how to describe his relationship with the boy.

“Why on earth did he have a gun? And what made him pull it out?”

Jason met her gaze, his brown eyes quizzical. “I asked him the same thing, but he didn’t tell me. All I know is that he got irate when he saw you.”

“
Me
?” Trinity squeaked. “What? Why?”
She didn’t even know who Kyle was. And he pulled out a gun? Because of her?

“He spotted you and started getting really agitated. Mumbling under his breath.”

“I don’t even know who he is. Are you sure?”

“He pointed at you, swearing under his breath.”

Trinity stared at Jason. “Seriously? I don’t understand. He was going to shoot at me?”

Jason exhaled, resting his weight on his forearms on the table. “That’s what I thought was about to happen. That’s why I tried to get him to put it away.”

“That’s crazy. He must have been pointing at someone else.”

Jason rubbed at his eyes, looking exhausted. “Kyle hasn’t been himself for a few months. All he talks about is how society is corrupt and that all young women are going to hell for their wild behaviors. He looks down on everyone.”

“So he has the right to shoot someone? Was he going to punish me for my hemline being too short? Is that his idea of proper behavior?”

Jason gave a half smile. “Actually, you’re not far off. I was watching TV the other day, and when he came in, all he did was
rip apart the female actresses. How they were a bunch of sluts and immoral.”

“He’s on a religious kick?”

The smile disappeared. “Religions are supposed to be about love, not hate. He’s full of hate and anger. It’s like he’s trying to elevate himself by putting others down.”

“Putting others down by shooting them? Like it’s his job to kill people because he thinks they’re sinning?” Trinity said.
Was that why he pulled out a gun?

“I don’t know what he was thinking.”

“That makes two of us,” Trinity muttered. “Your friend has mental issues. Now what? Do you need a ride home? Have you talked to your parents?”

“I live with my dad. They divorced a long time ago. My mom lives in Idaho. But no, I don’t want to go there. My dad has been acting weird. He and my grandpa have been fighting.”

“Does your grandpa live with you guys?” Trinity sympathized with his home life. Just because your real parents were still around, it didn’t mean life was easier.

“Nah, he’s got a place on the way to the coast. Lives out in the middle of nowhere, but my dad goes out there a lot. My grandfather’s health isn’t the best.”

“I’m sorry. That has to really suck.”

“He’s a cranky old man.” Jason focused angry brown eyes on Trinity. “I think he’s an asshole. If he dies, I’m not going to cry about it.”

Trinity stared at him.
What could she say to that?
“That’s horrible. But I kinda get it. My grandmother wouldn’t win any prizes either. I lived with her for a while. She wasn’t mean. She just didn’t care.”

Jason plunged the last of his fries into his pool of ketchup. “He’s the one making my life miserable right now. Both he and my dad. Talk about crazy people. Sometimes they make Kyle look normal.”

Trinity took a deep breath. “You said something about punishment in your text today. What did you mean?”

Jason scowled at his fries before pushing them in his mouth. “I can’t be around them right now. Something is up and my grandpa is on the warpath. I could hear him yelling at my dad over the phone when he found out I went to Glory’s service.”

“Why would he care?”