Free The Knife and the Butterfly by Ashley Hope Pérez Page B

remember how Tigs introduced himself. “Where’s Jason? He in some kind of trouble?”
    “You’re all in trouble,” Pakmin says. “It was time for him to move on.”
    “Move on? Where to?”
    Pakmin ignores me until we get to the observation room. “Everybody’s time runs out sooner or later, don’t you see?” he says as he unlocks the door. “Yours will, too.”
    I know it’s a threat, a reminder that I’m not doing what I should be, but I’ve got nothing to go on.
    “Sir?” I say before Pakmin pulls the door shut behind him. He steps back through the doorway, eyeing me. “I want to—” I pause to find the right tone, “I want to do your program and everything, but I’m wondering . . .”
    “Yes?”
    “Could I maybe get a little more info about her?” I nod to the lit-up meeting room window where Lexi is sitting. While we’re watching, she pulls a wad of gum out of her mouth and sticks it under the table.
    Pakmin frowns in her direction. “What did you have in mind?”
    “I don’t know. . . . I see her writing sometimes in this notebook. Maybe that would help. But probably it’s nothing, right?” I don’t want to seem too eager.
    “Interesting thought,” Pakmin says before stepping back out. He closes the door, and the lock slides into place.
    The speakers crackle on while I’m still staring at the door. When I turn, I expect to see Janet coming into the room where Lexi is waiting. Instead, a guard walks in with this female who’s older but also way skinnier and sexier than Janet. She has long wavy black hair and tits about four sizes too big for her tiny waist.
    “Hi, peanut,” she says to Lexi. “You hanging in there?” Her voice is all birds and rainbows, but she doesn’t really look at Lexi. Like she’s scared to.
    “Yeah, no thanks to you, Mom .” Lexi says “mom” like it’s this huge joke. “Jesus, Shauna. What took you so long?”
    “Mr. VanVeldt thought that it would be better if—”
    “You didn’t want to see your only kid? You forgot me that fast?”
    “Lexi—”
    “Just like you forgot Theo.”
    The lady’s face goes white, and she stares down at the table. From Lexi’s smirk I can tell she’s proud of herself.
    After a minute, Lexi’s mom finally says something. “I will not tolerate that kind of speech. I’m sorry you’re here, Lex, but it’s not my fault. Your grandma and I have put everything on the line, borrowed from everybody we know just to pay for your lawyers.”
    “Did I ask you to?”
    “Jesus, Lexi, you’ve got to grow up. This is no picnic for me. We’re on the same side.”
    “Really?” Lexi says. She raises her eyebrows. “It looks to me like we’re on opposite sides of this fucking table.”
    The guard steps forward. “Another outburst like that and you’ll be back in your cell.”
    “No problem,” Lexi says, but she stares at the guard. For once I’m on the county’s side. Slap that bitch into solitary for disrespecting her ma like that. But no way am I going to risk getting into trouble with Pakmin on her account. I keep my mouth shut, but my hands turn to fists.
    “So what’s up?” Lexi smiles like this is an innocent question, but anybody can see she’s messing with her mom.
    “Just try to stay out of trouble. We need a perfect report from your unit supervisor. Perfect.”
    “Did Theo—where’s he buried?”
    Lexi’s mom hesitates.
    “Don’t tell me you put it off on someone else! He was family.” Lexi glares at her mother.
    “Of course I took care of everything. Just about. Meemaw picked out the marker. We buried him on the family land.”
    “Christ, Shauna, now I’ll have to go two hours just to visit him. Awesome.”
    “Well, we picked a spot under this real big pecan tree. I think he’d have liked it.”
    “And?” Lexi asks.
    “The landlord at the duplex repainted the fence. You can’t even tell about . . . It looks just the same as before.” Lexi’s mom glances up and meets her gaze