Page 18 of All He Takes
Nicky nodded, and they drove in silence, until they reached the small town of Stoneycreek.
***
Nicky parked across the street from Jimmy's house and waited in the car with Ken for a moment, scouting the place. Jimmy Drake lived in a small house on the outskirts of Stoneycreek. It was a quiet neighborhood, lower class, nothing like where Francine had lived. The house was set back from the road, surrounded by overgrown grass and a neglected garden. It seemed unkempt and worn, a far cry from the elegant homes in Francine's neighborhood. The neighborhood itself was quiet, with empty streets and shuttered windows.
"Sure this is the right place?" Ken asked.
"It's what Grace found," Nicky said, turning off the car, and they got out.
Nicky and Ken walked up to the front door of Jimmy's house, and knocked. No one answered. Nicky stepped back and took a good look. It was a one-story house, with a front porch, and a small yard. The roof was gray, with dark shingles. The paint was peeling, the porch boards were cracked, and the windows were foggy.
"Maybe no one's home," Ken said.
"No..." Nicky muttered. "He's here."
She banged harder on the door.
"Jimmy Drake!" Nicky yelled. "Open up. We need to talk to you!"
She banged on the door, again and again. Nicky heard a movement inside the house, and she froze. The door opened, and Jimmy stood there, looking at them. His legs were bare, and he was wearing a dirty wife-beater, with no pants. His eyes were bloodshot, and he smelled of booze.
"What? Who are you?" he asked.
Nicky and Ken held up their badges.
"Agent Nicky Lyons, FBI," she said. "This is my partner, Agent Ken Walker. We need to talk to you about Francine Gibbons."
Jimmy's eyes widened. "Frankie? What about her?"
She exchanged a look with Ken. Frankie had just been ID'd, so there was a good chance the news of her discovery genuinely hadn't reached Jimmy yet. But Nicky had a pretty good idea that Jimmy already knew Frankie was dead.
Maybe he'd even killed her.
But she couldn't get ahead of herself. They needed more information first.
"May we come in?" Nicky asked.
Jimmy stepped aside. "Yeah, yeah. Whatever."
Nicky walked into the living room, and she was immediately greeted by the smell of booze and cigarettes. The living room was messy, with empty beer bottles on tables and overflowing ashtrays on the floor, as well as discarded clothes and trash.
Jimmy closed the door, and dropped down on the couch, putting his feet up.
Nicky glanced at Ken, and saw he was holding back disgust. She knew that Ken had a thing about people who didn't keep their houses clean, and she had to admit: he had a point.
Jimmy looked between Nicky and Ken. "So, what's this about Frankie?"
"Francine Gibbons has been identified as one of two homicide victims," Nicky said, saying it blankly to gauge Jimmy's reaction.
It seemed to wake him up. His eyes went wide. "Wait, sorry, what? You're telling me Frankie is, what, dead or something?"
Nicky and Ken were quiet.
"You seem surprised," Nicky commented. "You know Francine has been missing for two months."
"Well yeah, but I figured she ran away after I dumped her," Jimmy said. "She was really torn up about the whole thing."
"Why would you 'dump’ her?" Ken asked. "She was a nice girl, was she not? A rich girl, a girl with a wealthy family..."
