Small Town Sins: a Novel by Ken Jaworowski

Author:Ken Jaworowski
Language: eng
Format: epub
Publisher: Henry Holt and Co.

NATHAN

I hated myself for being with LeeLee, but not enough to stop seeing her. Or maybe I disliked the idea of what I was doing, but the reality excited me. And after the visit by the detective earlier in the day, and hearing from Paula that the police were sniffing around the hospital, I needed LeeLee, if only to lose myself when my hand would slide under her denim skirt and feel what she had on underneath. In those moments, as my fingers caressed the smooth silk on her ass, all my other worries subsided.

Yet the respite was short-lived. A minute after we fell into bed, she paused the action and rolled onto her back. The mood immediately stalled.

“The mayor had a meeting today,” she said.

I made some sound of assent, and she continued:

“A couple of cops.”

“What kind of cops?”

“One was a state trooper, I know that. He was assisting an investigation, with some federal guy.”

“What was the meeting about?”

“I was hoping you’d tell me that.”

“What does that mean?”

“What do you think it means?”

I said, “If you don’t want to tell me, don’t tell me.”

“The mayor wouldn’t say anything at first, but I have ways of finding out.”

“What ways?”

She put on a girlish, seductive voice. “Oh, Mr. Mayor! What was happening today in that meeting? You’re so important!”

She found it amusing, that she had flirted with a man to get what she wanted. I found it sneaky. Or maybe I was jealous. How absurd for a guy who was cheating on his wife to be jealous of his … What was LeeLee? A mistress? Lover? Whatever she was, I didn’t like the game she was playing, though I needed to find out what she’d learned.

“That’s funny,” I said. “And what did the mayor say?”

“That fire up at Michaux. There was something in that house that the cops are very interested in.”

“What are they interested in?”

“That’s what I’m trying to find out.”

She was good at using the silence. I was better. We lay there for a few minutes until LeeLee broke it by saying: “So are you going to tell me?”

“Tell you what?”

“Now who’s playing games? Tell me what happened in that house.”

“I got there when the house was burning. I dragged a guy out. Then the place collapsed.”

“Well, here’s what the mayor said: the cops want him to keep an eye out in case anyone starts spending a lot of money. Or if anyone packs up like they’re moving out of town or acting different.”

“OK.”

“When the mayor said that, so much stuff started coming together in my head. I thought: You’ve been talking about leaving town, Nate. You’ve been talking about it a lot.”

“That’s not a crime.”

“And you’ve been acting different too.”

“I’m not.”

“Says the married guy I’m in bed with. A guy who’s practically been a monk all his life.”

“What else did the mayor say?”

“The cops may announce a big reward for information.”

I said, “That house … they were probably meth cookers and the cops are interested because of the drugs.

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