Secrets to the Grave by Steve Frech

Author:Steve Frech [Frech, Steve]
Language: eng
Format: epub
Publisher: HarperCollins Publishers
Published: 2021-07-01T12:00:00+00:00

Chapter 31

“I visit her every morning. It’s the only time I can, really. She gets upset when I leave and sometimes, it takes a while to calm her down. It’s been especially bad the past few days because there were a couple of weeks where I was getting ready for homicide that I didn’t get to see her that much. It was rough on her … It was rough on me, too.”

They were sitting on a covered bench on the playground next to the building, watching the rain.

“Tyler, why didn’t you tell me?”

“Can’t have people knowing about this.”

“What are you talking about? I would have understood.”

“It’s not about you, Somerset.”

She stopped.

Tyler searched for the right words. “What I’m trying to say is that this isn’t entirely on the legal side.”

Meredith waited as Tyler continued to stare out at the rain.

“I didn’t have the best of parents,” he began. “Pops was a walking dumpster fire who left when I was five. Mom went to shit shortly after. Drugs. Drinking. One-night stands, sometimes for cash. When I was fourteen, she got pregnant with Hannah. No idea who the father was. We were in a world of hurt. Never had any money and Hannah needed care. I talked to some of Mom’s dealers and got a job slinging. I was making enough money to get us by, but unfortunately, by the time I was seventeen, I got a little dust on my nose to deal with the stress.”

“You were an addict?” Meredith asked.

“Anyone slinging who says they never took a taste is lying.”

“You still use?”

Tyler quicky shook his head. “Those days are long gone.”

Meredith felt that there was something wrong with his denial. She knew from her dealings with her father, and the number of times that he told her his drinking days were over, only to relapse a few days later, that a recovering addict never says their addiction is over, but she let Tyler continue despite her suspicions.

“I was keeping us afloat, trying to get Mom’s life in order. Then, my guy got popped, along with all of his dealers, including me. The cop in charge of the sweep was a guy named Doc McElwee. Ever heard of him?”

“Not much. Sergeant Wheaton told me a little bit about him.”

“They were friends from way back. Anyway, Doc takes notice of me, what I was doing, why I was doing it, and the fact that I was a minor. He also noticed that I was a lot smarter than my compatriots.

“The bust sent Mom over the edge. I was locked up and she didn’t have any money coming in. She couldn’t handle Hannah. I told Doc about my situation. Told him how I was trying to keep all of our heads above water and I was worried about Hannah and Mom. He went to go check on them. Found my mom in the living room. She had OD’d. Hannah was sitting next to her, waiting for her to wake up. She hadn’t eaten in two days.

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