Free Helpless by Daniel Palmer

to the Caribbean, skiing in the White Mountains, graduations, and birthday parties and such. But many of the pictures Tom saw evoked a deep sadness. Those were the pictures of Stephen, who had died of a drug overdose five years earlier.
    “What would you like to drink?”
    “Just water,” Tom said.
    “For you, Jill?”
    “Water’s fine.”
    A boy entered through the open archway. He had short hair with gelled spikes, a silver cross earring in his right ear, and wore faded jeans that were frayed at the bottom. The tight-fitting blue shirt he wore underneath his light jacket revealed a wiry but muscular frame. Tom had once advised Mitchell about colleges and had talked to him about Stephen after his brother’s death. Other than that, the two didn’t have much interaction around school.
    “Mom, I’m going out,” said the boy.
    “Mitchell, please. Come here. Mr. Hawkins has come over to see Dad. And I asked you to stay and keep Jill company until they go.”
    “It’s okay,” Jill said with a shrug. “I can just wait.”
    “Nonsense,” Adriana said. “Mitchell is a wonderful host, and I’m sure he’ll be delighted to delay his plans to be a supportive friend.”
    “Come on, Mom. She said she’s fine,” Mitchell said. “I’ll be back later.”
    Kid is all heart, thought Tom.
    “Tanner can wait. The Hawkins are going through a difficult period, and they need our support.”
    Mitchell’s protest receded like the tide, and his demeanor shifted from emboldened to sheepish. “Sure thing,” he said.
    “That’s better. Why don’t you give her a tour of the house? I don’t believe Jill’s ever been over here before.”
    “Come on,” Mitchell said to Jill. “I’ll show you around. Then we can chill out in the basement if you want. You play air hockey?”
    “Yeah, I’m pretty good at it,” Jill said.
    “That’s more like it,” Adriana said.
    Mitchell nodded with his head for Jill to follow. Tom watched them leave through the same archway where Mitchell earlier had appeared. He noticed Mitchell had a tattoo on the back of his neck—a yin and yang symbol in the shape of a skull.
    Yikes and yikes, thought Tom, relieved again that Mitchell and Jill ran in different circles.
    Adriana went over to the cart with drinks on it. She squeezed Tom’s arm as she passed.
    “It’s four o’clock, and I’m going to have a glass of wine. Sure you won’t join me?” she said, pouring herself a near full glass of white wine from a bottle on ice.
    “Thanks for the offer, but no. Water’s fine.”
    Adriana sat down on the couch and sighed. “Sorry you had to witness that unpleasant exchange. Little kids, little problems. Big kids, big problems,” she said before taking a healthy sip of her wine.
    “He seems like a good kid,” Tom said.
    “Trust me, he’s a handful. How are things with Jill?”
    “Little kids, little problems. Big kids, big problems,” Tom repeated.
    Adriana nodded knowingly. “It must be hard on you both,” she said. “Any break in the case? I’ve heard that the police think it was a robbery.”
    Tom took a seat on the couch beside her, following Adriana’s prompt.
    “There were some items missing from the house,” Tom confirmed. “And signs of a struggle. But so far, no suspects. No arrests.”
    “I heard about what happened in the woods,” Adriana said, touching the spot on his head where he’d been hit. Tom flinched. Adriana seemed oblivious to his reaction. “Do the police think it’s connected with what happened to Kelly?”
    “If they do, they’re not saying.”
    Adriana flashed Tom a frown, and though she didn’t say it, Tom could tell there had been some talk about him within her circle of friends.
    “I play bridge with Cathleen Wells, and she told me that you’re moving back to Shilo. Is that true?”
    Tom nodded. “I need to do it for Jill. She doesn’t want to leave town to come live with me, and I don’t blame her. All her friends are here. Her life is