Free Home Free by Sonnjea Blackwell Page B

bears at the body shop, and since it seems unlikely that
anyone is as stupid as Mo and Mark Thompson, I figure there’s got
to be another explanation. One that leaps to mind is that Junior
did it and is letting you and my brother take the fall.”
    “Gummy bears?” He shook his head, confused,
then let it drop. “Even if Mikey did kill the guy and set the fire,
which I don’t believe, what possible reason would he have for
screwing me over like that?”
    “He could resent you, I guess. Maybe he’s
jealous of all that you’ve been able to do while he was sitting in
a jail cell, killing time, even though you had nothing to do with
him being there. I guess prison can do strange things to
people.”
    “We’ve always gotten along pretty well. I
never get the sense he blames anyone besides himself for the way
his life has gone so far. And he’s been a model citizen since he
got out.” He shook his head. “But he used to get mad at the
attention I got when we were kids. People let me get away with
things, and they didn’t hold it against me that my dad was Mike
Salazar, at least not too much. But Mikey never got any special
treatment because people weren’t counting on him to help bring home
another friggin’ baseball trophy. In fact, people always expected
the worst of Mikey, and after awhile, I guess it was just easier to
give ’em what they wanted.”
    “I thought he goes by Junior now.”
    Danny nodded. “Yeah, but the family still
calls him Mikey. Hard to switch, I guess.”
    He hadn’t removed his sunglasses when he came
inside, so I couldn’t see his eyes, but it was obvious in the way
he slumped on the bench that he was exhausted. I let the topic of
his brother drop.
    “How are you doing?”
    “I’m suspended, pending the investigation.
The cops don’t seem to be looking for anyone else, as you pointed
out, except possibly my brother, which only makes them like me even
more, at least for the fire. Your brother might go to jail because
he was stupid enough to be at the wrong place at the wrong time,
thanks to me.” He looked across the restaurant at Jack, then back
to me and started to say something else, but evidently thought
better of it and shook his head. “I guess that about sums it
up.”
    “How can they suspend you? You haven’t even
been arrested.”
    “The fire department takes a decidedly dim
view of its employees setting fires. The suspension is with
pay at this point. If they arrest me, it won’t be.” He paused,
looking at my shoes. “Sexy.” That didn’t mean much. Danny thought
salad was sexy.
    “Is there anything I can do?” Run away with
you to Mexico? Fix you a sandwich? Make love to you here on this
bench? I was open to suggestions.
    He sighed. “Can you turn back the clock? To
before the phone call Saturday night, so I could tell the guy I
couldn’t come over to his office to put my fingerprints all over
the light switches and implicate myself in a murder I had nothing
to do with?”
    I was thinking that if I could turn back
time, I would turn it back a hell of a lot farther than that.
“They’re called switch plates.”
    “What?”
    “Switch plates. The light switch cover
thingies. They’re by the blow torches.”
    “Hey babe, pizza’s here,” Jack yelled from
the table. I grimaced. Danny rolled his eyes and set his jaw, and I
knew he was done talking to me for tonight.
    I put my hand on his leg, friendly, not sexy.
Well, that was my intent. But touching him, even through the denim
of his pants, sent a flare of heat throughout my body, including
areas that didn’t qualify as merely friendly. I pulled my hand away
before it melted. “It’s going to work out,” I said, not sure why or
how. Then I went back to my table.
    I watched Danny till he left with his pizza.
He didn’t look in my direction again. When he was gone, I switched
sides and sat next to Jack so I could watch the game too, and he
filled me in on the progress on my house during commercials.