Page 85 of A Week Away
“Felt wrong. My mom was kind of private.”
I sighed. “She had a lot of bank accounts. The statements were in the junk room. She might even have more that I didn’t find. I didn’t do what I’d call an extensive search. Between the bank accounts and whatever you make selling the house you should have plenty of money. Enough to go to college even.”
“Fuck college.”
“Or you can stay in your bedroom playing Donkey Kong until you’re ready for a mid-life crisis.”
“I don’t play Donkey Kong. It’s stupid.”
I shrugged. Honestly, I didn’t even know what Donkey Kong was except I’d heard a while back that kids were playing too much of it.
“So what’s the plan?” Cass asked.
“We’re going to do to Cray what he was going to do to you. We’re going to put the gun and the hoodie in his office and then let the police know they’re there.”
He thought about that for a moment, and said, “Cool.”
“But first we’re going back inside to help your aunt clean up.”
“What? No, she’s okay.”
“We’ve got a couple of hours.”
He rolled his eyes and got out of the Thunderbird. Following him into the house, I could easily figure out how the search had gone. They’d started in the garage with Cass’s car where they’d been told the gun and hoodie would be. When those weren’t there, they’d have worked their way through the garage and into the house. By the time they got to the front of the house, the dining room and living room, they were pretty angry. There was a coat closet next to the front door. Its contents were now strewn on the floor. In the living room, both sofas were flipped over, the liquor cabinet stood open, and the carpet was rolled back. In the dining room, the China closet doors stood open and the shelves empty, confirming my suspicion that they hadn’t held any serving items. Cass and I flipped the sofas upright. Aunt Suzie could not have done that on her own. I glanced at the den, which looked like Aunt Suzie had already straightened up in there.
We went into the kitchen and found her there. She was standing in front of the counter wearing a pink bowling shirt that said PINK LADIES on the back and Suzie Q over her right breast. There was food all over the counter. The refrigerator stood open and was completely empty. When she saw us she said, “Why would they have to search the refrigerator?”
“It’s not a bad place to hide a gun.”
“And why were they looking for a gun? They can’t seriously think Cassidy would…”
“Someone called in a tip. They had to check it out.”
“They took a couple of Cassidy’s hoodies.”
“What colors?”
“Red and blue,” Cass answered for her.
“No Spartan green?”
“My mom didn’t like sports,” he said. And then for a brief moment I saw a light in his eye that suggested he was realizing he could now like sports if he wanted to.
“They’re going to test the hoodies for gunshot residue. They won’t find anything.”
“Cassidy, why don’t you go upstairs and put your room back together,” Aunt Suzie suggested. Honestly, I didn’t remember his room looking ‘together’ before the search.
He looked from me to his aunt and back again. Clearly, he was deciding whether we’d be talking about anything he cared about. He went with not caring, and said, “Fine. Whatever.”
She nodded her head toward the backyard and walked over to the slider. She went out to the patio and I followed her.
“What’s up?” I asked.
“This is none of your business. What I’m going to tell you, it’s not your business. But you should know. I guess.”
Confusing, if it wasn’t my business then I really shouldn’t know. She looked upset though.
“What is it?”
